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Abstract
We report the case of an 8-month-old baby killed by the deployment of an airbag. He was correctly positioned, in a safety seat designed for his age class, on the passenger side, and rear-facing. The accident occurred at low speed, on the left front of the car, without provoking any harm to the mother who was driving the vehicle, but the impact led to airbag deployment. A CT scan showed an occipital fracture, hemorrhagic parenchymal contusions, subarachnoid hemorrhage and edema, which quickly led to fatal intracranial hypertension. Severe retinal hemorrhages were also noted. Brain death was declared 24h later. Both direct impact and violent projection of the head are involved in the severity of brain lesions. Retinal hemorrhages are similar to what is observed in shaken-baby syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first French publication on this topic in childhood. In France, children are allowed to be positioned on the passenger side seat, but the airbag, if present, is supposed to be deactivated, which is not always possible. In recent cars, depowering the airbag is easy, with on/off switches, but these systems are not uniform between models. Moreover, it is very likely that this possibility is ignored by numerous parents. A widespread communication on this topic should be initiated in France to prevent such events. Banning infants from front passenger seats completely does not seem possible. Nevertheless, greater attention on the part of police departments and better information to drivers appear necessary.
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