Bilateral thalamic lesions in a newborn with intrauterine asphyxia after maternal cardiac arrest--a case report with literature review.

Abstract

Hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in preterm and term infants is one major cause of neonatal neurologic morbidity. Depending on the gestational age and the extent of hypoxia, different pathologic findings have been observed. Hypoxic-ischemic lesion of the thalamus is the least common form of cerebral injury. Although long-term outcome with spastic or extrapyramidal cerebral palsy is known, clinical features in the neonatal period are not well described. We report an infant with bilateral hypoxic-ischemic thalamic lesions after maternal cardiac arrest at 28 weeks of gestation. Clinical features and diagnostic results of our patient are compared to information given in the literature to define the clinical entity of hypoxic-ischemic thalamic lesions in neonates better.