Interhemispheric fissure width in neonates on ECMO

The neurosonograms of fifty-eight patients treated over a four-year period with ECMO support were retrospectively reviewed for analysis of changes in interhemispheric (IHF) width while on ECMO. To correlate these measurements with patterns of development of total body edema as reflected by chest wall thickening on portable chest radiographs, patients were divided into three categories based on the pattern and severity of body edema development. Patterns of IHF widening were compared between these categories, and to the pattern of development of chest wall edema within each category. Results indicate that IHF width tends to progressively increase during ECMO and that the pattern of IHF widening tends to parallel development of overall body edema. Additionally, IHF widening was found to resolve following termination of ECMO support, as demonstrated on follow-up cranial CT examinations. Our results suggest that IHF widening in infants on ECMO is an intracranial manifestation of the generalized edema accumulation that frequently occurs during ECMO.