Noncystic “increased” periventricular echogenicity and other mild cranial sonographic abnormalities: Predictors of outcome in low birth weight infants
✍ Scribed by Ruth B. Goldstein; Roy A. Filly; Stephen Hecht; Suzanne Davis
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1989
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 903 KB
- Volume
- 17
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0091-2751
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The sonograms of 71 low birth weight infants were retrospectively reviewed and compared with results of neuromotor examinations a t 24 months of age to determine whether mild abnormalities commonly detected on cranial sonograms (including milder grades of hemorrhage, ventricular dilation, and noncystic increases in periventricular echogenicity) were correlated with future neurologic handicaps. Of the 71 infants studied, increased periventricular echoes were noted in 20 (28%), Grade 1 or 2 intracranial hemorrhage in 31 (43%), and mild-moderate ventriculomegaly in 28 (39%). Neuromotor handicaps were detected in 15 (21%). No significant correlation was found between the above sonographic abnormalities and the incidence of future neuromotor handicaps. When those neonates with asymmetric mild-moderate ventriculomegaly were separately analyzed, this group was found to have more neuromotor handicaps ( p <0.05) than those with normal ventricular size, and this finding warrants future study. Importantly, early cranial sonograms were completely normal in 12% of those infants with neuromotor handicaps. We conclude that the presence of mild cranial sonographic abnormalities (including mildly increased periventricular echogenicity) in these infants is not well correlated with neuromotor handicaps detected a t 24 months of age. Indexing Words: Periventricular leukomalacia * Neonatal cranial sonography * Intracranial hemorrhage
The incidence of intracranial abnormality is high among very low birth weight infants (born weighing less than 1500 g).'-6 Intracranial hemorrhage occurs with an incidence of 40% to 50% in this population. For this reason it is standard practice to do routine cranial sonography in all premature infants in the first week of life. Sonography's sensitivity for intracranial hemorrhage and performance safety have made it the most commonly employed modality for evaluating this problem. In many institutions sonography is the method used almost exclusively for