Isolated scalp hematoma: An unusual presentation of congenital afibrinogenemia

Abstract

Background: Congenital fibrinogen disorder is a rare autosomal recessive blood coagulation disorder, where majority of patients present with bleeding, whereas a few may paradoxically develop thrombosis. While many of the affected children have prolonged umbilical cord bleeding during the neonatal period, manifestations may go unnoticed till adolescence. We describe such a child with congenital afibrinogenemia Clinical Description: A 12-year-old boy presented with painless diffuse scalp swelling for 2 weeks without any antecedent history of trauma, hemarthrosis, muscle hematoma, or any skin bleed, except a history of prolonged bleeding post trauma since toddler age. Examination revealed diffuse, boggy, nonpulsatile swelling over the entire scalp, more prominent on the right side, without any focal neurological deficit. A noncontrast computed tomography head showed a scalp hematoma without any intracranial bleeding. Blood investigations revealed extremely elevated prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) with normal platelet counts and normal platelet morphology on peripheral smear. A detailed coagulation work-up revealed an extremely high thrombin time and an almost undetectable Factor I (fibrinogen) level. Genetic analysis revealed a homozygous single-base pair deletion in exon 5 of the fibrinogen gene of alpha chain, thus confirming the diagnosis of congenital afibrinogenemia. Management: The child was managed with multiple fresh frozen plasma transfusions and serial PT/aPTT monitoring. Once PT and aPTT were normalized, transfusions were discontinued. The child is currently on regular follow-up maintaining a fibrinogen level of more than 0.5 g/L. Genetic counseling was done for the family. Conclusion: Congenital afibrinogenemia may be detected late in adolescence with atypical bleeding manifestations. Awareness of this entity may help the physician to suspect this disease. Early and appropriate investigations can be conducted to identify the condition, so that appropriate management can be initiated.

Keywords

• adolescent
• bleeding disorder
• child
• genetic