Transient Horizontal Gaze Palsy in a One-Month-Old Boy after a Fall

Pediatr Neurosurg. 2016;51(1):42-7. doi: 10.1159/000441680. Epub 2015 Dec 5.

Abstract

A 1-month-old boy was evaluated after a fall from a height of 3 feet and found to have right parietal skull fracture as well as right and left frontal traumatic hemorrhage. Ten days after the injury, he represented with a persistent left gaze preference. Further workup including MRI and EEG determined that this finding was most likely due to a small, focal, left-frontal eye field lesion. We review the horizontal gaze pathway and demonstrate that this is present at this very young age, and that a very focal and relatively minor injury can cause gaze disturbance.

MeSH terms

  • Accidental Falls*
  • Brain Injuries / complications
  • Brain Injuries / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Ocular Motility Disorders / etiology*
  • Parietal Bone / injuries
  • Skull Fractures / complications*
  • Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / complications
  • Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / diagnosis*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed