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Published on: November 20, 2015
Cerebellar injury in preterm infants less than 28 weeks gestational age
Yoshihito Sasaki1, Kazuhisa Nemoto2, Shunji Goto1
1Department of Obstetrics and Neonatology, Funabashi Central Hospital, Funabashi, Chiba, Japan.
Insights
Extremely premature infants with cerebellar injury had lower gestational ages. Severe intraventricular hemorrhage combined with cerebellar hemorrhage may increase the risk of cerebellar injury in these infants.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Neurology
- Perinatal Medicine
- Pediatric Radiology
Background:
- Cerebellar injury is a significant perinatal complication in preterm infants.
- Perinatal complications are increasingly linked to neurological morbidity.
- Understanding risk factors for cerebellar injury in extremely premature infants is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate perinatal risk factors associated with cerebellar injury in extremely premature infants.
- To analyze the short-term morbidity in extremely premature infants with cerebellar injury.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study of 285 infants born before 28 weeks gestational age.
- Infants categorized into groups with and without cerebellar injury based on MRI findings.
- Statistical analysis of perinatal background and short-term morbidity.
Main Results:
- Lower gestational age, birthweight, and hemoglobin levels were significant perinatal differences.
- Increased incidence of respiratory distress syndrome, chronic lung disease, hydrocephalus, and severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in the cerebellar injury group.
- Extensive cerebellar lesions (agenesis, hypoplasia) were noted in 11 cases, often co-occurring with severe IVH and cerebellar hemorrhage.
Conclusions:
- Significantly lower gestational age is a key factor in cerebellar injury.
- The combination of severe intraventricular hemorrhage and cerebellar hemorrhage appears to promote cerebellar injury.
Background:
Cerebellar injury is one of the perinatal complications in preterm infants. Recent studies have highlighted the effect of perinatal complications on neurological morbidity. We investigated the perinatal risk factors and morbidity for cerebellar injury in extremely premature infants.
Methods:
This retrospective cohort study included 285 infants born between April 2009 and December 2020 at gestational age <28 weeks at our institution. The infants were divided into two groups based on magnetic resonance imaging findings: those with and without cerebellar injury. We performed a statistical analysis of the perinatal background and short-term morbidity of the two groups.
Results:
Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed between the groups with respect to the perinatal background, especially gestational weeks, birthweight, and hemoglobin values at birth. In the short-term morbidity, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome, chronic lung disease, hydrocephalus, severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), and cerebellar hemorrhage. Extensive cerebellar lesions, such as cerebellar agenesis or global cerebellar hypoplasia, accounted for 11 of the 22 cases of cerebellar injury; seven of the 11 cases had severe IVH in addition to cerebellar hemorrhage.
Conclusions:
Gestational age was significantly lower in the cerebellar injury group. The combination of severe IVH and cerebellar hemorrhage may promote cerebellar injury.
