Acute epidural haematoma with hypodense bubbles on CT: a sign of dural sinus tear or solely fresh bleeding?

Acute epidural haematomas are less commonly seen in children than in adults, and are even rarer in infants. On CT these haematomas sometimes show hypodense bubbles, an appearance the interpretation of which has been a matter of controversy. Identification of the origin of the bleeding--whether from torn dural sinuses or transected meningeal vessels--is neurosurgically significant. This report presents the CT study of an infant with an acute epidural haematoma containing hypodense bubbles which occurred due to fresh bleeding from injured meningeal vessels.