FETAL INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE - IMAGING BY ULTRASOUND AND MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

OBJECTIVE: To describe the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings a ssociated with fetal intracranial hemorrhage and to compare them with ultrasound findings. STUDY DESIGN: In four pregnancies complicated by fetal intracranial hemorrhage,fetal imaging was carried out using T-2- weighted fast spin echo sequences and T-2-weighted fast low angle shot imaging sequences and by transabdominal ultrasonography. RESULTS: An antepartum diagnosis of hemorrhage was made by ultrasound in one case and by MRI in two. Retrospectively, the hemorrhagic area could be iden tified from the MRI images in an additional two cases and from the ult rasound images in one case. In the cases of intraventricular hemorrhag e, the MRI signal intensity in the T-2-weighted images was increased i n the hemorrhagic area as compared to the contralateral ventricle and brain parenchyma. In a case with subdural hemorrhage, T-2-weighted MRI signals from the hemorrhagic area changed from low- to high-intensity signals during four weeks of follow-up. Better imaging of the intracr anial anatomy was possible by MRI than by transabdominal ultrasonograp hy. CONCLUSION: MRI can be used for imaging and dating fetal intracran ial hemorrhages. Variable ultrasound and MRI findings are associated w ith this complication, depending on the age and location of the hemorr hage.