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Published on: November 20, 2015
Abnormal white matter appearance on term FLAIR predicts neuro-developmental outcome at 6 years old following preterm
Sachiko Iwata1, Osuke Iwata, Alan Bainbridge
1Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Center for Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahimachi, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0011 Japan.
Unlabelled:
Preterm infants are at significant risk of neuro-developmental disorders at school-age. MRI is a potentially useful screening tool of such disorders. Using FLAIR imaging in the preterm infants at term, here we demonstrate that abnormal low-intensity signal in the white matter predicts the neuro-developmental outcome at 6 years.
Study Design:
Clinical factors associated with white matter appearance on MRI obtained at term were investigated in 210 preterm infants.
Results:
Low-intensity signal on FLAIR imaging was commonly observed (69%) at <2 months corrected-age. Its incidence correlated with corrected-age at scan, maternal pyrexia and cystic periventricular leukomalacia. Low-intensity signal on FLAIR significantly correlated with performance and full-scale developmental quotients, whereas diffuse high-intensity signal on T2-weighted imaging correlated only with the full-scale developmental quotient at 6 years (n = 75, WISC-R). FLAIR imaging, but not T2-weighted imaging, predicted mild neuro-developmental delay.
Conclusions:
FLAIR appeared to detect subtle white matter injury related with neuro-developmental disorders at school-age, whereas T2-weighted imaging seemed to identify relatively more severe injury. FLAIR is a potentially sensitive screening tool that is readily available and easily interpretable.
