Traumatisme crânien de type balistique chez un enfant de dix ans

A 10-year old Guadeloupean child suffered from a fall while he played with his friends during carnival time. When the rescue arrived, he had a Glasgow Coma Score 7 with hemiparetic neurological deficit, twitching and vomiting. The external review also noted a millimetre wound of the left eye inner canthus. After orotracheal intubation, he was transferred to the intensive care unit. The CT scan report revealed multiple skull fractures and the presence of two intracranial metal tone foreign bodies, all along a fronto-occipital ballistic path. Despite resuscitation, the child will die from complications of a refractory intracranial hypertension. The medicolegal autopsy confirmed bone and intracranial hemorragic lesions and allowed the removal of the occipital foreign body. By a joint work of investigators, the piece of lead could be identified as a fragment of a ballast used at the extremity of craft whips used during the festival in order to increase their visual and sound effect.