Intracranial Hemorrhage after Blunt Head Trauma in Children with Bleeding Disorders Lois K. Lee, MD, MPH, Peter S. Dayan, MD, MSc, Michael J. Gerardi, MD, Dominic A. Borgialli, DO, MPH, Mohamed K. Badawy, MD, James M. Callahan, MD, Kathleen A. Lillis, MD, Rachel M. Stanley, MD, Marc H. Gorelick, MD, MSCE, Li Dong, MSc, Sally Jo Zuspan, RN, MSN, James F. Holmes, MD, MPH, and Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH, and the Traumatic Brain Injury Study Group for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Objective To determine computerized tomography (CT) use and prevalence of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in children with and without congenital and acquired bleeding disorders. Study design We compared CT use and ICH prevalence in children with and without bleeding disorders in a multicenter cohort study of 43 904 children <18 years old with blunt head trauma evaluated in 25 emergency departments. Results A total of 230 children had bleeding disorders; all had Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores of 14 to 15. These children had higher CT rates than children without bleeding disorders and GCS scores of 14 to 15 (risk ratio, 2.29; 95% CI, 2.15 to 2.44). Of the children who underwent imaging with CT, 2 of 186 children with bleeding disorders had ICH (1.1%; 95% CI, 0.1 to 3.8) , compared with 655 of 14 969 children without bleeding disorders (4.4%; 95% CI, 4.1-4.7; rate ratio, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.98). Both children with bleeding disorders and ICHs had symptoms; none of the children required neurosurgery. Conclusion In children with head trauma, CTs are obtained twice as often in children with bleeding disorders, although ICHs occurred in only 1.1%, and these patients had symptoms. Routine CT imaging after head trauma may not be required in children without symptoms who have congenital and acquired bleeding disorders. (J Pediatr 2011;158:1003-8). I ntracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a significant and potentially life-threatening complication for children with congenital or acquired bleeding disorders.1-9 There is evidence that these children are at increased risk for sustaining ICH even after minor blunt head trauma.2,6,10 Studies in children with hemophilia have reported ICH rates of 2% to 16% after head trauma, including some children with no signs or symptoms of trauma. The risk of ICH varies with the severity of hemophilia, and children with severe hemophilia (factor level <1%) are at highest risk, from spontaneous and traumatic ICH.2,10-13 Although there are few studies on the risk of ICH after head trauma in children with von Willebrand disease, they seem to be at less risk than children with hemophilia.2,12,14 The risk of ICH in patients with other congenital and acquired bleeding disorders is less well described.1,2,15 In patients with immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), ICH, including spontaneous and traumatic, is rare, with a reported incidence of 0.1% to 1.0%.1,9,16,17 However, the prevention of ICH has been a primary goal in the management of ITP, because ICH risk correlates with the severity of thrombocytopenia.1,4,17 The ICH risk in patients who have taken anti-coagulants has only been reported in adults, with differing conclusions about the risk of anti-coagulation therapy.18-22 CT ED GCS ICH ITP LOC PECARN RR Computerized tomography Emergency department Glasgow Coma Scale Intracranial hemorrhage Immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura Loss of consciousness Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Rate ratio From the Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (L.L.); Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY (P.D.); Department of Emergency Medicine, Atlantic Health System, Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown, NJ (M.Gerardi); Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan School of Medicine and Hurley Medical Center, Flint, MI (D.B.); Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY (M.B.); Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, SUNY-Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY (J.C.); Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, SUNY-Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY (K.L.); Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI (R.S.); Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (M.Gorelick); Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah and PECARN Central Data Management and Coordinating Center, Salt Lake City, UT (L.D., S.Z.); and Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA (J.H., N.K.) List of members of the Traumatic Brain Injury Study Group for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) available at www.jpeds. com (Appendix). Supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration/Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Division of Research, Education, and Training, and the Emergency Medical Services of Children program (R40MC02461). The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network is supported by cooperative agreements U03MC00001, U03MC00003, U03MC00006, U03MC00007, and U03MC00008 from the Emergency Medical Services of Children program of the Health Resources and Services Administration/Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Division of Research. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. 0022-3476/$ - see front matter. Copyright ª 2011 Mosby Inc. All rights reserved. 10.1016/j.jpeds.2010.11.036 1003 THE JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS www.jpeds.com The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency of computerized tomography (CT) imaging after blunt head trauma in children with bleeding disorders compared with children without bleeding disorders, and the prevalence of ICH in these children. Methods This was an a priori planned substudy conducted as part of a larger prospective cohort study to derive and validate a neuroimaging decision rule for children after blunt head trauma.23 The study was approved by the institutional review boards at all participating institutions. Written or verbal consent for this observational study was obtained at each institution as required by their institutional review boards. The study was conducted in 25 emergency departments (EDs) participating in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN).24,25 Children <18 years old who were evaluated for blunt head trauma resulting from non-trivial mechanisms within 24 hours of injury at any of the participating EDs between June 2004 and September 2006 were eligible for the main study.23 Congenital or acquired bleeding disorder was defined as hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, congenital or acquired thrombocytopenia (defined as platelet count <150 000/mL), a functional platelet disorder, other bleeding disorder, or anti-coagulation therapy (warfarin, heparin, low molecular weight heparin/enoxaparin, clopidogrel). Patients were excluded from both the main study and this substudy when they had: (1) trivial mechanisms of injury (falls from standing height, walking, or running into stationary object) and (2) no signs or symptoms of head injury besides a scalp laceration or abrasion. Patients were also excluded from both studies when they sustained penetrating trauma, when the injury occurred >24 hours before the ED evaluation, when they had a pre-existing neurological disease, known brain tumor, or history of ventricular shunt placement, or when they had been transferred with cranial imaging from an initial treating institution to the study facility. A full description of the main study protocol has been published.23 In brief, the treating clinician conducted the examination and recorded the results on a structured case report form before knowledge of any imaging studies, if performed. Cranial CTs were obtained at the discretion of the treating clinician. The case report form included information about patient history (including history of bleeding disorders), injury mechanism, symptoms, and physical examination findings. When the patient had a bleeding disorder, the case report form included check boxes for hemophilia, platelet disorders, anticoagulation therapy, von Willebrand disease, ‘‘unknown,’’ and ‘‘other.’’ Three hundred-forty children were indicated to have a bleeding disorder on the case report forms. We performed a detailed secondary medical record review of these cases to determine the specific type, and when applicable, the severity of the bleeding disorder. Of these 340 children, 230 met criteria for analysis in this study. The 1004 Vol. 158, No. 6 other 110 were excluded from this study because they did not meet the criteria for having a congenital or acquired bleeding disorder at the time of the head injury. Patients with hemophilia were categorized according to type of factor deficiency and severity (mild, moderate, or severe). For children with thrombocytopenia, platelet counts at the time of the ED evaluation were obtained, when available from the medical record. Hospital admission was at the discretion of the treating ED physician. To determine the clinical outcomes of the patients hospitalized for their head trauma, we performed a medical record review, and data were recorded on a structured case report form. For children discharged home from the ED, a follow-up telephone call was conducted by trained research coordinators between 1 week and 3 months after the ED visit to determine whether the patient had an unscheduled return visit to a healthcare provider and whether any cranial imaging was performed after their initial ED visit. When a missed traumatic brain injury was suggested at follow-up, the medical records and imaging results were obtained and reviewed, and the patient’s outcome was recorded. When telephone follow-up was not available, we mailed a follow-up survey or reviewed the medical record, quality improvement reports, trauma registries, or morgue reports at the respective sites to obtain any missing clinical information.23 The primary outcomes were rates of CT use and presence of an ICH on CT, as reported by an attending radiologist. ICHs included epidural hematomas, subdural hematomas, intraventricular hemorrhages, cerebral contusions, cerebral/ cerebellar hemorrhages, subarachnoid hemorrhages, or traumatic infarctions. Data Analysis We tabulated basic descriptive information for children with and without bleeding disorders for the entire study population. Because all the children with bleeding disorders presented with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores of 14 or 15, as did 98% of the children without bleeding disorders, the remainder of the analyses was performed only for children with GCS scores of 14 and 15. We calculated rate differences with 95% CIs of the prevalence of signs and symptoms of head trauma in children with bleeding disorders compared with the reference population of children without bleeding disorders. We also compared rates of CT imaging and ICH for patients with bleeding disorders versus patients without bleeding disorders by using rate ratios (RRs) with 95% CIs. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses to identify factors independently associated with the use of CT imaging. Children <2 years old and $2 years old were analyzed separately to optimize the inclusion of the presenting signs and symptoms, because some symptoms (eg, headache) cannot be accurately assessed in pre-verbal patients (<2 years old). In these analyses, we adjusted for the diagnosis of coagulopathy and the severity of mechanism of injury and other signs and symptoms suggestive of traumatic brain injury (history of loss of consciousness, headache, vomiting, acting abnormally according to parent, altered mental status, signs Lee et al ORIGINAL ARTICLES June 2011 of skull fractures, and scalp hematomas).23 Altered mental status was determined a priori as a GCS score <15, agitation, sleepiness, slow responses, or repetitive questioning. We performed the data analysis with SAS software version 9.1.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina). Results A total of 43 904 patients with non-trivial blunt head trauma were enrolled during the 28-month study period. Of these patients, 230 had a history of congenital or acquired bleeding disorders meeting criteria for this analysis, including 129 (56.1%) with hemophilia. The demographic and injury severity characteristics of the children with and without bleeding disorders are presented in Table I. The group with bleeding disorders was more likely to be male and less likely to have severe mechanisms of injury than the children without bleeding disorders. Because all patients with bleeding disorders (and 98% of patients without bleeding disorders) presented with seemingly minor head trauma, defined with GCS scores of 14 or 15, the remainder of the results considers only children with GCS scores of 14 to 15. After hemophilia, Von Willebrand disease and thrombocytopenia comprised the next largest categories of bleeding disorders (Table II). Of the children with thrombocytopenia, 18 (54%) had ITP. Children with bleeding disorders presented with a lower prevalence of symptoms and signs of ICH than did the children with GCS scores of 14 to 15, but without bleeding disorders (Table III; available at www.jpeds.com). The one exception to this was the prevalence of scalp Table I. Patient characteristics—all Glasgow Coma Scale scores Mean age, years (SD) Male sex (%) Age <2 years (%) Severity of mechanism† (%) Mild Moderate Severe GCS (%) #13 14 15 CT obtained (%) ICH on CT (%) Bleeding disorder n = 230 No bleeding disorder n = 43 379* 6.4 (5.1) 192 (83.5) 65 (28.3) 7.1 (5.5) 27 040 (62.3) 10 901 (25.1) 81 (36.2) 131 (58.5) 12 (5.4) 7186 (16.7) 29 649 (68.9) 6210 (14.4) 0 (0.0) 5 (2.2) 225 (97.8) 186 (80.9) 2 (1.1) 967 (2.2) 1341 (3.1) 41 071 (94.7) 15 883 (36.6) 993 (6.3) *A total of 43 904 patients were enrolled in the main head trauma study. Number with no bleeding disorder and GCS 3-15 was 43 379 after the removal of 505 patients on the basis of exclusion criteria (230 with bleeding disorders; 110 initially categorized as bleeding disorder, but on record review did not meet criteria for this analysis; 101 with ventricular shunts; 66 with no GCS recorded; 2 had more than one exclusion) and 20 with no outcome recorded (2 with GCS 3-13). †Severity of injury mechanism was defined as follows. Severe mechanisms included when the patient was ejected in a motor vehicle crash; when the patient was a passenger in a motor vehicle crash rollover; any passenger death in the motor vehicle crash; when the patient was a pedestrian or un-helmeted bicyclist struck by automobile; fall >5 feet when $2 years old or >3 feet when <2 years old; or when the head was struck by a high-impact object (eg, golf club). Mild injury mechanisms included falls to the ground from standing height or walking/running into stationary objects associated with signs or symptoms of blunt head trauma. All other mechanisms were considered moderate. Table II. Categorization of bleeding disorders (n = 230) Disorder n (%) Hemophilia Severe Moderate Mild von Willebrand disease Thrombocytopenia (platelets/mL)* <5000 5001-20 000 20 001-50 000 50 001-150 000 Unknown Anti-coagulation therapy Functional platelet disorder Other bleeding disorder 129 (56.1%) 80 (62.0%) 36 (27.9%) 13 (10.1%) 45 (19.6%) 34 (14.8%) 2 (5.9%) 2 (5.9%) 12 (35.3%) 17 (50.0%) 1 (2.9%) 15 (6.5%) 6 (2.6%) 1 (0.4%) *At the time of ED examination. hematomas, which was higher in children with bleeding disorders. Cranial CTs were obtained in 186 of the 230 children with bleeding disorders (80.9%) compared with 14 969 of the 42 412 children without bleeding disorders (35.3%), but with the same GCS scores of 14 to 15 (RR, 2.29; 95% CI, 2.15 to 2.44). Of the children with mild mechanisms of injury, children with bleeding disorders were 3-times more likely to be examined with CT scan (66/81, 81.5%) than children without bleeding disorders (1910/7106, 26.9%; RR, 3.03; 95% CI, 2.71 to 3.39). Of the children with moderate or severe injury mechanisms, children with bleeding disorders had twice the CT evaluation rate (114/143, 79.7%) of children without bleeding disorders (12 895/34 993, 36.9%; RR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.99 to 2.35). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, which controlled for severity of mechanism and signs and symptoms of head injury, children <2 years old with bleeding disorders had a 42-fold higher odds of having a head CT performed than patients <2 years old without bleeding disorders (OR, 42.52; 95% CI, 19.77 to 91.45; Table IV). In addition, children $2 years old with bleeding disorders had 23-fold higher odds of having a head CT performed than children $2 years old without a bleeding disorder (OR, 22.62; 95% CI, 14.75 to 34.67; Table V). The effect of GCS < 15 was captured in the multivariable logistic regression analyses as it was included in the definition of the variable altered mental status. Clinical characteristics of the children with bleeding disorders who did not have a CT scan examination for their head trauma are described in Table VI (available at www.jpeds.com). Of the patients with GCS scores of 14 to 15 for whom a CT was obtained, an ICH was present in 2 of 186 children with bleeding disorders (1.1%; 95% CI, 0.1 to 3.8) compared with 655 of 14 969 children without bleeding disorders (4.4%; 95% CI, 4.1 to 4.7; RR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.98). Furthermore, in the children with bleeding disorders, there were no patients who initially had ED CT results that were negative for ICH then subsequently had positive CT results. Similarly, none of the children with bleeding disorders who did not undergo imaging in the ED had positive CT results on follow-up. Intracranial Hemorrhage after Blunt Head Trauma in Children with Bleeding Disorders 1005 THE JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS www.jpeds.com Table IV. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of factors associated with the use of computerized tomography in children younger than 2 years with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 14 or 15 Odds ratio for CT examination (95% CI) Variable Unadjusted The two patients with bleeding disorders and ICHs on CT scan presented with signs and symptoms of ICH. One was a 15- year-old boy with severe factor VIII deficiency who was involved in a motorcycle crash. On ED presentation, he had a GCS score of 15, complained of a moderate headache, and exhibited repetitive questioning. On physical examination, he had a large parietal scalp hematoma. His CT scan revealed a right frontal lobe parenchymal hemorrhagic contusion. He was treated with factor VIII and hospitalized for 2 nights because of his head injury. No neurosurgical intervention was required. The second patient was a 6-year-old boy receiving warfarin therapy for a congenital cardiac con- Table V. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of factors associated with the use of computerized tomography in children 2 years or older with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 14 or 15 Odds ratio for CT examination (95% CI) Variable Unadjusted 1006 dition who fell 3 to 5 feet. On presentation to the ED, he had a GCS score of 15, complaints of a mild headache, and had two episodes of emesis. Physical examination revealed a medium-size temporal scalp hematoma. He had an epidural hematoma on CT, for which he was hospitalized for 3 nights with no neurosurgical intervention. Adjusted Presence of bleeding disorder 15.83 (7.55-33.23) 42.52 (19.77-91.45) Mechanism severity Mild 1.0 (reference) 1.0 (reference) Moderate/Severe 1.73 (1.52-1.96) 2.11 (1.80-2.48) History of loss of consciousness 6.04 (5.00-7.30) 6.55 (5.25-8.16) History of vomiting 3.18 (2.85-3.55) 3.18 (2.78-3.64) Acting abnormally per 6.67 (5.91-7.53) 3.67 (3.15-4.27) parent Altered mental status 9.26 (8.05-10.65) 4.85 (4.07-5.78) Signs of basilar skull 29.34 (10.63-81.01) 28.21 (8.25-96.53) fracture Palpable skull fracture 6.75 (5.32-8.56) 6.78 (5.07-9.08) Scalp hematoma None 1.0 (reference) 1.0 (reference) Frontal 0.90 (0.81-0.99) 1.09 (0.96-1.23) Non-frontal 2.55 (2.28-2.85) 2.77 (2.41-3.18) Presence of bleeding disorder 6.17 (4.26-8.93) Mechanism severity Mild 1.0 (reference) Moderate/Severe 1.53 (1.44-1.63) History of loss of consciousness 12.73 (11.85-13.68) Headache 3.38 (3.21-3.56) History of vomiting 5.14 (4.78-5.53) Altered mental status 14.01 (12.83-15.31) Signs of basilar skull 20.45 (12.63-33.10) fracture Palpable skull fracture 4.51 (3.81-5.34) Scalp hematoma None 1.0 (reference) Frontal 0.78 (0.74-0.83) Non-frontal 1.29 (1.22-1.37) Vol. 158, No. 6 Adjusted 22.62 (14.75-34.67) 1.0 (reference) 1.71 (1.56-1.88) 14.75 (13.53-16.07) 2.54 (2.37-2.71) 5.70 (5.16-6.29) 10.55 (9.38-11.87) 23.70 (13.65-41.16) 6.79 (5.42-8.52) 1.0 (reference) 0.91 (0.83-1.00) 1.25 (1.15-1.36) Discussion In this large, prospective, multicenter study of children with blunt head trauma, 1% of imaged patients with bleeding disorders had ICHs. This study is unique in that it included children with acquired and congenital bleeding disorders, who have varying degrees of risk for the development of traumatic ICH on the basis of the type and severity of the bleeding disorder. Overall, patients with bleeding disorders (all with GCS scores of 14-15) were twice as likely to have a cranial CT performed than children without bleeding disorders and with GCS scores of 14 to 15. The two children with bleeding disorders and ICH after head trauma had other signs and symptoms of ICH that would have warranted cranial imaging. Therefore, CT imaging may not routinely be needed in the evaluation of children with bleeding disorders after blunt head trauma, particularly in those without signs and symptoms suggestive of ICH. Head trauma-related ICH in patients with bleeding disorders has been best described in patients with hemophilia (factor VIII and factor IX deficiency). ICH is the leading cause of mortality from bleeding in this population, and the reported prevalence of head trauma-related ICH in patients with hemophilia ranges from 2% to 16%. Current recommendations for the management of head trauma in children with severe hemophilia are to initiate treatment with factor replacement as soon as possible after the traumatic event.26,27 The significant decrease in mortality rate from ICH (spontaneous and traumatic) in patients with hemophilia has been attributed to the wide availability of factor concentrates for replacement.10 The factor level at the time of injury and the use of factor correction were not evaluated in this study, because our primary outcomes were the use of CT and presence of ICH on CT in this population and not the effect of treatment on the clinical complications from the bleeding disorder. Although institutional guidelines for the use of CT after head trauma are available, we were not able to identify any published standard clinical practice guidelines on the topic. In our prospective cohort, only one of 129 patients with hemophilia who underwent imaging with CT had an ICH. He was treated with factor replacement alone. Our results for children with hemophilia differ somewhat from earlier studies, which have mainly been retrospective or small. One retrospective study of children with hemophilia identified 374 ED visits for head trauma in 11 years, with 9 episodes of ICH (2.4%). Five of these patients had no reported signs or symptoms of ICH during the time of the ED evaluation, which ranged from 1 to 10 hours after the head trauma event. All patients were treated with factor Lee et al ORIGINAL ARTICLES June 2011 replacement for 10 to 14 days; none of the patients died or required neurosurgical intervention.10 A slightly higher prevalence of ICH was noted in a retrospective study of children with hemophilia and von Willebrand disease, with ICH occurring in 5 of 109 episodes of blunt head trauma (4.6%). All 5 patients had hemophilia and, similar to our study, presented with symptoms suggestive of ICH, including abnormal neurological examinations.2 A prospective study from 1981 of children and adults with hemophilia reported 6 patients with ICH out of 47 episodes of head trauma; however, few details are available to determine the symptoms and signs of those with ICH.11 The incidence of ICH is low in children with thrombocytopenia and has primarily been described in children with ITP.1,4,9,16,17 One review of the literature from 1954 to 1998 identified 75 published cases of ICH in children with ITP; however, only 9 of these children had a history of head trauma.1 A recent case control study of 40 children with ITP who sustained ICH reported 33% (13/40) had a preceding history of head trauma, compared with 80 children with ITP and no ICH where only one child had a history of head trauma (1.2 %).17 There were 34 children in our study population with thrombocytopenia (<150 000 platelets/mL); none of them sustained an ICH. Only a small percentage of our study patients were receiving anti-coagulation therapy. Of the 16 patients receiving anti-coagulation therapy in this study, only one child (receiving warfarin) sustained an ICH after a 3- to 5-foot fall and had symptoms (headache and vomiting). Traumatic ICH in patients receiving anti-coagulation therapy has primarily been described in the adult literature, with conflicting conclusions about the associated risks of ICH. One prospective case-control study of adults medicated with warfarin found a trend toward increased mortality after head trauma.21 A retrospective study of 144 adult patients receiving warfarin who were defined as low-risk for ICH by symptoms (no symptoms, dizziness, or headache), identified 10 patients with clinically important CT findings.19 In contrast, a smaller retrospective study of 65 patients receiving warfarin with minor head trauma without loss of consciousness found that none had ICH on CT.18 With a growing number of children surviving with chronic medical conditions requiring anticoagulation (eg, congenital heart disease), caution should still be advised about the potential risk of ICH with head trauma while more data are gathered. This study has some limitations. Although this was a very large prospective study of pediatric head trauma, there were limited numbers of patients with congenital or acquired bleeding disorders in our study population, especially those with severe hemophilia, severe thrombocytopenia, or receiving anti-coagulation therapy. Therefore, the precision of our findings is limited. Analysis of the larger head trauma study from which this subanalysis was performed demonstrated that the missed eligible population was similar to the study population, making it unlikely that a substantial number of children with bleeding disorders were not enrolled.23 Although only two patients in our cohort sustained ICHs, both had physical signs and symptoms of ICH, suggesting that symptomatically silent ICHs in children with bleeding disorders are very uncommon. Children with hemophilia are also at risk for a delayed presentation of ICH after head trauma; however, children presenting for ED evaluation >24 hours after head trauma were not included in this study, because they were eligible only when they presented within 24 hours. However, of the children with bleeding disorders who presented within 24 hours of the injury, none had delayed bleeding, which we would have detected at follow-up. Despite these limitations, it is unlikely that a prospective study larger than this one will be conducted in the near future, and this study provides the largest prospectively conducted study on the topic. In this prospective study of blunt head trauma in children with congenital and acquired bleeding disorders, the prevalence of ICH was very low. The two patients with bleeding disorders and ICH had signs and symptoms suggestive of ICH, which would have warranted cranial CT evaluation. Although patients with congenital or acquired bleeding disorders are at risk for ICH, the low rate of ICH suggests that they may not routinely require cranial CT imaging after minor blunt head trauma in the absence of signs or symptoms of ICH. n We thank Rene Enriquez at the PECARN Data Center (University of Utah) for his dedicated and diligent work, the research coordinators in PECARN, without whose dedication and hard work this study would not have been possible, and all the clinicians around the PECARN who enrolled children in this study. Submitted for publication Aug 16, 2010; last revision received Sep 20, 2010; accepted Nov 15, 2010. Reprint requests: Lois K. Lee, MD, MPH, Division of Emergency Medicine, Children’s Hospital, Boston, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: [email protected] References 1. Butros LJ, Bussel JB. Intracranial hemorrhage in immune thrombocytopenic purpura: a retrospective analysis. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 2003; 25:660-4. 2. Dietrich AM, James CD, King DR, Ginn-Pease ME, Cecalupo AJ. Head trauma in children with congenital coagulation disorders. J Pediatr Surg 1994;29:23-32. 3. Klinge J, Auberger K, Auerswald G, Brackmann HH, Mauz-Korholz C, Kreuz W, et al. Prevalence and outcome of intracranial haemorrhage in haemophiliacs—a survey of the paediatric group of the German Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (GTH). Eur J Pediatr 1999; 158(Suppl 3):S162-5. 4. Lilleyman JS, Paediatric Haematology Forum of the British Society for Haematology. Intracranial haemorrhage in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Arch Dis Child 1994;71:251-3. 5. Ljung RCR. Intracranial haemorrhage in haemophilia A and B. Br J Haematol 2007;140:378-84. 6. Lutschg J, Vassella F. Neurological complications in hemophilia. Acta Paediatr Scand 1981;70:235-41. 7. Martinowitz U, Heim M, Tadmor R, Eldor A, Rider I, Findler G, et al. Intracranial hemorrhage in patients with hemophilia. Neurosurgery 1986;18:538-41. 8. Stieltjes N, Calvez T, Demiguel V, Torchet MF, Briquel ME, Fressinaud E, et al. Intracranial haemorrhages in French haemophilia Intracranial Hemorrhage after Blunt Head Trauma in Children with Bleeding Disorders 1007 THE JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. www.jpeds.com patients (1991-2001): clinical presentation, management and prognosis factors for death. Haemophilia 2005;11:452-8. Woerner SJ, Abildgaard CF, French BN. Intracranial hemorrhage in children with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Pediatrics 1981;67: 453-60. Witmer CM, Raffini L, Manno CS. Utility of computed tomography of the head following head trauma in boys with haemophilia. Haemophilia 2007;13:560-6. Andes WA, Wulff K, Smith WB. Head trauma in hemophilia. Arch Intern Med 1981;144:1981-3. Hennes H, Losek JD, Sty JR, Gill JC. Computerized tomography in hemophiliacs with head trauma. Pediatr Emerg Care 1987;3: 147-9. Nelson MD, Maeder MA, Usner D, Mitchell WG, Fenstermacher MJ, Wilson DA, et al. Prevalence and incidence of intracranial haemorrhage in a population of children with haemophilia. Haemophilia 1999;5:306-12. Mizoi K, Onuma T, Mori K. Intracranial hemorrhage secondary to von Willebrand’s disease and trauma. Surg Neurol 1984;22:495-8. Kyrnetskiy EE, Kun LE, Boop FA, Sanford RA, Khan RB. Types, causes, and outcome of intracranial hemorrhage in children with cancer. J Neurosurg 2005;102:31-5. Iyori H, Bessho F, Ookawa H, Konishi S, Shirahata A, Miyazaki S, et al. Intracranial hemorrhage in children with immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Ann Hematol 2000;79:691-5. Psaila B, Petrovic A, Page LK, Menell J, Schonholz M, Bussel JB. Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in children with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP): study of 40 cases. Blood 2009;114:4777-83. 1008 Vol. 158, No. 6 18. Garra G, Nashed AH, Capobianco L. Minor head trauma in anticoagulated patients. Acad Emerg Med 1999;6:121-4. 19. Li J, Brown J, Levine M. Mild head injury, anticoagulants, and risk of intracranial injury. Lancet 2001;357:771-2. 20. Mina AA, Knipfer JF, Park DY, Bair HA, Howells GA, Bendick PJ. Intracranial complications of preinjury anticoagulation in trauma patients with head injury. J Trauma 2002;53:668-72. 21. Mina AA, Bair HA, Howells GA, Bendick PJ. Complications of preinjury warfarin use in the trauma patient. J Trauma 2003;54:842-7. 22. Cohen DB, Rinker C, Wilberger JE. Traumatic brain injury in anticoagulated patients. J Trauma 2006;60:553-7. 23. Kuppermann N, Holmes JF, Dayan PS, Hoyle JD, Atabaki SM, Holubkov R, et al. Identification of children at very low risk of clinically-important brain injuries after head trauma: a prospective cohort study. Lancet 2009;374:1160-70. 24. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN): rationale, development, and first steps. Acad Emerg Med 2003;10:661-8. 25. Dayan P, Chamberlain J, Dean JM, Maio RF, Kuppermann N. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network: progress and update. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med 2006;7:128-35. 26. Witmer CM, Manno CS, Butler RB, Raffini LJ. The clinical management of hemophilia and head trauma: a survey of current clinical practice among pediatric hematology/oncology physicians. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;53:406-10. 27. Hoots WK, Shapiro AD. Treatment of hemophilia. In: Fleisher GR, Marx JA, Walls RM, editors. UpToDate. www.uptodate.com. Accessed January 11, 2010. Lee et al ORIGINAL ARTICLES June 2011 Appendix Participating centers and site investigators of the Traumatic Brain Injury Study Group for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) are listed in alphabetical order: Atlantic Health System/Morristown Memorial Hospital (M. Gerardi); Bellevue Hospital Center (M. Tunik, J. Tsung); Calvert Memorial Hospital (K. Melville); Children’s Hospital Boston (L. Lee); Children’s Hospital of Michigan (P. Mahajan); Children’s Hospital of New York–Presbyterian (P. Dayan); Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (F. Nadel); Children’s Memorial Hospital (E. Powell); Children’s National Medical Center (S. Atabaki, K. Brown); Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (T. Glass); DeVos Children’s Hospital (J. Hoyle); Harlem Hospital Center (A. Cooper); Holy Cross Hospital (E. Jacobs); Howard County Medical Center (D. Monroe); Hurley Medical Center (D. Borgialli); Medical College of Wisconsin/Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin (M. Gorelick, S. Bandyopadhyay); St Barnabas Health Care System (M. Bachman, N. Schamban); SUNY–Upstate Medical Center (J. Callahan); University of California Davis Medical Center (N. Kuppermann, J. Holmes); University of Maryland (R. Lichenstein); University of Michigan (R. Stanley); University of Rochester (M. Badawy, L. Babcock-Cimpello); University of Utah/Primary Children’s Medical Center (J. Schunk); Washington University/St. Louis Children’s Hospital (K. Quayle, D. Jaffe); Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo (K. Lillis). We acknowledge the efforts of these individuals participating in PECARN at the time this study was initiated: PECARN Steering Committee: N. Kuppermann, Chair; E. Alpern, J. Chamberlain, J. M. Dean, M. Gerardi, J. Goepp, M. Gorelick, J. Hoyle, D. Jaffe, C. Johns, N. Levick, P. Mahajan, R. Maio, K. Melville, S. Miller (deceased), D. Monroe, R. Ruddy, R. Stanley, D. Treloar, M. Tunik, A. Walker. MCHB/EMSC liaisons: D. Kavanaugh, H. Park; Central Data Management and Coordinating Center (CDMCC): M. Dean, R. Holubkov, S. Knight, A. Donaldson; Data Analysis and Management Subcommittee (DAMS): J. Chamberlain, Chair; M. Brown, H. Corneli, J. Goepp, R. Holubkov, P. Mahajan, K. Melville, E. Stremski, M. Tunik; Grants and Publications Subcommittee (GAPS): M. Gorelick, Chair; E. Alpern, J. M. Dean, G. Foltin, J. Joseph, S. Miller*, F. Moler, R. Stanley, S. Teach; Protocol Concept Review and Development Subcommittee (PCRADS): D. Jaffe, Chair; K. Brown, A. Cooper, J. M. Dean, C. Johns, R. Maio, N. C. Mann, D. Monroe, K. Shaw, D. Teitelbaum, D. Treloar; Quality Assurance Subcommittee (QAS): R. Stanley, Chair; D. Alexander, J. Brown, M. Gerardi, M. Gregor, R. Holubkov, K. Lillis, B. Nordberg, R. Ruddy, M. Shults, A. Walker; Safety and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee (SRAS): N. Levick, Chair; J. Brennan, J. Brown, J. M. Dean, J. Hoyle, R. Maio, R. Ruddy, W. Schalick, T. Singh, J. Wright. Table III. Presenting findings in children with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 14 and 15 Symptoms History of loss of consciousness Headache† History of vomiting Acting abnormally according to parent Altered mental status Signs of basilar skull fracture Palpable skull fracture (or unclear exam) Scalp hematoma Frontal Non-frontal Seizure Bleeding disorder (n = 230) n/n (%) No bleeding disorder (n = 42 412) n/n (%) Rate difference* (95% CI) 11/229 (4.8) 57/157 (36.3) 8/226 (3.5) 24/225 (10.7) 9/228 (3.9) 0/229 (0.0) 4/230 (1.7) 6286/40 693 (15.4) 12 700/28 518 (44.5) 5557/42 112 (13.2) 6197/39 406 (15.7) 5487/42 096 (13.0) 287/41 991 (0.7) 1044/42 311 (2.5) 10.6 (13.4 to 7.9) 8.2 (15.8 to 0.7) 9.7 (12.1 to 7.2) 5.1 (9.1 to 1.0) 9.1 (11.6 to 6.5) 0.7 (0.8 to 0.6) 0.7 (2.4 to 1.0) 59/228 (25.9) 55/228 (24.1) 2/228 (0.9) 8753/41 919 (20.9) 7761/41 919 (18.5) 494/41 692 (1.2) 5.0 (0.7 to 10.7) 5.6 (0.04 to 11.2) 0.3 (1.5 to 0.9) *Rate difference calculated from bleeding disorder and no bleeding disorder cohorts with GCS scores of 14 to 15, because all 230 bleeding disorder subjects had GCS scores of 14 to 15. †Only recorded for children $2 years old. Intracranial Hemorrhage after Blunt Head Trauma in Children with Bleeding Disorders 1008.e1 THE JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS www.jpeds.com Vol. 158, No. 6 Table VI. Characteristics of patients with bleeding disorders who were not examined with computerized tomography Bleeding disorder Hemophilia Mild Moderate/severe von Willebrand disease Thrombocytopenia <20 000 plts/mL $20 000 plts/mL Unknown Anti-coagulation therapy Other Severity of injury mechanism Mild Moderate Severe History of loss of consciousness Headache* History of vomiting Acting abnormally per parent GCS 14 15 Altered mental status Signs of basilar skull fracture Palpable skull fracture† Scalp hematoma Frontalz Temporal/parietalx Occipital{ Bleeding disorder with no CT (n = 44) n (%) Mild injury mechanism n (%) Moderate/severe injury mechanism n (%) 17 (38.6) 5 (29.4) 12 (70.6) 11 (25.0) 10 (22.7) 1 (10.0) 8 (80.0) 1 (10.0) 5 (11.4) 1 (2.3) 7 (41.2) 1 (14.3) 6 (85.7) 2 (18.2) 5 (50.0) 1 (20.0) 4 (80.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (100.0) 10 (58.8) 4 (40.0) 6 (60.0) 9 (81.8) 5 (50.0) 0 (0.0) 4 (80.0) 1 (20.0) 5 (100.0) 0 (0.0) 15 (34.1) 27 (61.4) 2 (4.5) 0 (0.0) 6 (17.6) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 44 (100) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (2.3) 9 (20.5) 3 (6.8) 5 (11.4) *Ten children had missing data (6 were <2 years old). †This child had hemophilia. zSix children had hemophilia. xOne child had hemophilia. {Two children had hemophilia. 1008.e2 Lee et al
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