Prenatal sonographic detection of adrenal hemorrhage confirmed by postnatal surgery

We report a case of adrenal hemorrhage in a newborn first detected by sonog raphy at a menstrual age of 21 weeks 4 days. An echogenic mass was noted ab ove the right kidney. The mass became larger and hypoechoic on follow-up so nograms after birth. The mass was also seen on abdominal CT. Because it was difficult to differentiate the lesion from cystic neuroblastoma and becaus e it shrank only modestly by 2 months after birth, we performed a surgical exploration when the patient was 2 months old, and adrenal hemorrhage was c onfirmed. This case suggests that adrenal hemorrhage can occur as early as the second trimester of pregnancy. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.