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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
State of the Art Cranial Ultrasound Imaging in Neonates
Published on: February 2, 2015
Brain growth in sick newborn infants: a clinical and real-time ultrasound analysis
Insights
This study assessed brain growth in preterm infants, finding slower growth in those with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Postnatal development showed no significant differences across groups with various complications.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal intensive care
- Pediatric neurology
- Medical imaging
Background:
- Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and prematurity impact neonatal brain development.
- Assessing brain growth in preterm infants requires reliable methods.
- Complications like intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and ventricular dilatation (VD) can affect brain development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate brain growth in preterm infants.
- To analyze the influence of IUGR, ICH, and VD on brain development.
- To establish an ultrasonic index for assessing cerebral growth.
Main Methods:
- Developed an ultrasonic index, height of the frontal lobes (HFL), for brain growth assessment.
- Measured HFL and head circumference (HC) in 152 neonates (127 normal, 25 IUGR).
- Analyzed postnatal anthropometric increments (weight, length, HC, HFL) in 5 preterm infant groups.
Main Results:
- HFL and HC provided similar assessments of brain growth relative to gestational age.
- Brain growth was slower in infants with IUGR, assessed by both HFL and HC.
- No significant differences in weekly anthropometric increments were found between the 5 postnatal groups.
Conclusions:
- The HFL index, correlated with gestational age, can track intrauterine brain growth after 26 weeks.
- IUGR significantly impacts early brain growth in preterm infants.
- Despite initial growth differences, postnatal development parameters did not significantly differ among preterm infants with various complications.
Abstract:
This study concerns 152 neonates admitted between June 1981 and December 1983 in a neonatal intensive care unit. It aims to evaluate brain growth and to analyse the influence of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) and ventricular dilatation (VD) in pre-term infants. The babies were first analysed at birth. The sample comprised 127 normal infants and 25 IUGR neonates. An ultrasonic index of cerebral growth was devised: the height of the frontal lobes (HFL), measured in a standardised coronal slice of the brain. According to gestational age (GA), HFL and head circumference (HC) gave a similar assessment of brain growth. A regression line of normal intrauterine values of HFL has been produced according to GA and might be added to the other ways of following the intrauterine growth of the brain after 26 weeks. Brain growth was slower in IUGR, when assessed both by HFL and HC. The infants were also assessed during the postnatal period for a mean period of 27.6 days (S.E.M.: 3.5). They were divided into 5 groups: 45 preterm infants without IUGR, ICH or VD; 45 preterm neonates with ICH alone; 12 preterm babies with ICH and VD alone, 10 preterm infants with isolated FGR, and 8 preterm neonates with IUGR and ICH. A calculation of the global anthropometric (body weight, body length, HC and HFL) weekly increment was made for all infants according to their respective group. No statistical difference in any of these parameters between these 5 groups emerged.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
