Introduction:

Holoprosencephaly is the direct consequence of specific genetic or environmental changes that disrupt midline division of the embryonic prosencephalon or prosencephalon. These alterations can condition dissimilar phenotypic alterations in humans.

Objective:

To describe the clinical manifestations of patients with holoprosencephaly and the clinical and therapeutic behavior in a neonate.

Case presentation:

Child of non-consanguineous parents, 35-year-old mother with a history of cervicitis and gestation bleeding in the second half of pregnancy, and family history of diabetes mellitus and heart disease. Delivery was at term, at 37 weeks, dystocic by cesarean section secondary to a retroplacental hematoma. The result was a male newborn with breech presentation, weight 3380 grams and Apgar 9/9 at birth. The cesarean section was performed at the Hospital Materno Sur "Mariana Grajales Coello" (urban area) of Santiago de Cuba. Dysmorphic features were observed in the newborn, mainly craniofacial dysmorphic ones. He did not require resuscitation, but a few minutes later he presented respiratory distress and hyposaturation.

Conclusions:

In holoprosencephaly, postnatal diagnosis can be made by phenotypic features, facial malformations and neuroimaging studies such as transfontanellar ultrasound and cranial computed tomography. Patients should be evaluated and followed in evolution by a multidisciplinary team of specialties such as otorhinolaryngology, maxillofacial, neuropediatrics, neurodevelopmental consultation, genetics, physiatry and imaging.

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