Diffuse Cerebral Anoxia
- The dense or bright (AKA reversal sign) is the effect of anoxic/ischemic cerebral injury in children. It indicates serious, irreversible brain damage and carries a poor prognosis.
- There is diffuse decreased attenuation of the cerebral cortex with a relative preservation of density in the thalami, brainstem, and cerebellum.
- These findings have been described in abused children, birth asphyxia, anoxia due to drowning and neonatal hypothermia.
- Possible explanations include preserved brain tissue, petechial hemorrhage, and mineralized neurons for high-density areas on CT and severe edema and/or tissue destruction for low-density areas on CT.