HEAD-INJURIES IN CHILDREN FROM PLASTIC HAIRBEADS

Background. Plastic hairbeads are often worn as decorative hair fasten ers by children. Serious, penetrating head injuries may result from th eir use and have been observed in some children following a fall, Obje ctive. The objective of this report is to describe the imaging finding s in children who have sustained head injury while wearing plastic hai rbeads. Materials and methods. Three children with significant head in juries resulting from embedded hairbeads are described. Three addition al cases of minor head injury report ed to the Consumer Product Safety Commission are summarized. Results. One child sustained a minimally d epressed skull fracture without brain injury. The second child require d surgical repair of a depressed skull fracture complicated by a paren chymal hemorrhage and dural tear. A third child required surgical evac uation of an organized, liquefied epidural hematoma 2 weeks after an i nitial evaluation at an outside emergency room. Conclusion. Children w earing plas tic hairbeads are at risk for severe head injury following a fall, Caution must accompany their use.