[Sonographic detection of subdural effusions in infancy].

Using the open fontanelle as an acustic window, small frontoparietal subdural effusions are often missed on conventional sagittal or coronar ultrasonographic sections. Using horizontal and frontal skull sections during the first 12 months of life intracranial structures can equally be visualized. In a study of 14 infants aged 6 days to 11 months gray scale ultrasonography was compared to computed axial tomography. The results suggest that horizontal and frontal ultrasonographic skull sections are equally efficient to localize even small subdural effusions without the adverse risks of radiation.