Head circumference and brain and hippocampal volume after severe traumatic brain injury in childhood

Vulnerability of the hippocampus to traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adults is related to severity of injury and white matter atrophy. The objectives of this study were to determine features of anthropometry and cerebral morphometry late after TBI in childhood and to assess whether hippocampal volume is related to severity of initial ictus and changes in white matter at follow-up. Thirty-three patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging 4.9 y after severe TBI that necessitated intensive care; 23 had mechanical ventilation and intracranial pressure monitoring longer than 3 d. Magnetic resonance imaging analyses included volume of brain, hemisphere, ventricles, and hippocampal and perihippocampal regions; spatial distribution of voxel-based morphometry differences in white matter; and eigenvalues of diffusion tensor imaging diffusivity. Patients with longer intensive care ictus had smaller-than-expected occipitofrontal head circumference. Eight of these, identified by voxel-based morphometry, had periventricular white matter loss and smaller-than-expected brain volume for OFC, suggesting atrophy; the remainder had expected volume for a smaller OFC, suggesting growth disturbance. Ninety-three percent of the variation in right hippocampal volume was accounted for by factors related to severity of injury and white matter atrophy. It is concluded that anthropometry and cerebral morphometric measurements late after severe TBI in childhood provides useful outcome data and indicate that, despite adequate growth in stature, effects of TBI on brain growth and hippocampal volume may extend into adulthood.