‘Torch Fire Sign’: A New MR Sign in Profound Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury in a Term Infant

Abstract

Hypoxic-ischemic injury can produce diverse patterns of brain damage detected on MR imaging which mainly depend on the severity of brain ischemia and the maturity of the brain at the time of insult¹. In a term infant severe ischemia produces maximum damage in the lateral thalami, posteromedial putamen, hippocampi and the dorsal brain stem in addition to the perirolandic cortex². This is because these areas are the most metabolically active sites in the neonate³.

Keywords

MRI hypoxia sign

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Roach

: Cerebrovascular disease in infants and children. In: Berg

, ed. Principles of Child Neurology. New York: McGraw-Hill 1996: 901–936.

Barkovich

: MR and CT evaluation of profound neonatal and infantile asphyxia. Am J Neuroradiol 13: 959–972, 1992.

Chugani

Phelps

Mazziotta

: Positron emission tomography study of human brain functional development. Ann Neurol 22: 487–497, 1987.

Fitz

Chuang

: Bilateral basal ganglia lesions: Pediatric differential considerations. Radiographics 13: 269–92, 1993.

Johnston

Hoon

Jr : Possible mechanisms in infants for selective basal ganglia damage from asphyxia, kernicterus, or mitochondrial encephalopathies. J Child Neurol 15: 588–91, 2000.