THE VALUE OF BRAIN COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY AND CT ANGIOGRAPHY IN DIAGNOSING SOME CAUSES OF NON-TRAUMATIC INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE IN CHILDREN AT THE NATIONAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FROM JANUARY 2024 TO JUNE 2025

Tran Phan Ninh1,2, Nguyen Thi Hoa2, Do Dinh Hai2
1 National Children's Hospital
2 Thai Nguyen University of Medicine and Pharmacy

Main Article Content

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of brain computed tomography (CT) and CT angiography (CTA) in identifying the etiology of non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage in pediatric patients.


Methods and subjects: A retrospective–prospective descriptive study was conducted in 48 children diagnosed with non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage by CT at the National Children’s Hospital. Eligible patients were aged ≤16 years.


Results: A total of 48 children aged ≤16 years with non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage were included, with a mean age of 8.3 ± 4.7 years. The condition was more prevalent in males than females. The etiologies of non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage differed significantly across age groups (p < 0.001). The most common clinical manifestations were signs of increased intracranial pressure (70.8%) and impaired consciousness (54.1%). CT effectively identified hemorrhage location and severity of injury; hematoma volume ≥30 mL, midline shift ≥5 mm, cerebral edema, and brain herniation were strongly associated with poor prognosis. CTA demonstrated a sensitivity of 91.7% and a specificity of 90% compared with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in detecting vascular causes of hemorrhage.


Conclusion: Brain CT and CTA are effective diagnostic tools that provide critical information on etiology, lesion severity, and prognosis in children with non-traumatic ICH. CTA is highly valuable for screening vascular causes before performing invasive DSA.

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References

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