Cranial ultrasound and clinical studies in preterm infants

Serial ultrasound imaging of the brain was used to determine the ventricular index (VI), and the ratio (VR) of the VI to the cranial hemidiameter during the nursery course and first year post-term in preterm infants of less than 33 weeks gestation. Twenty-nine of the infant survivors with no intracranial hemorrhage or major medical complication during their nursery course composed group 1. Twenty-two survivors with intracranial hemorrhage unassociated with early ventricular dilation composed group 2. Group 3 was comprised of 10 other survivors who had neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage with early ventriculomegaly; all 10 infants had at least one major medical complication during their neonatal course. In groups 1 and 2 the VR decreased and the VI increased significantly with age post-conception. Infants in group 3, compared with those in groups 1 or 2, had decreased occipitofrontal growth during the early postnatal period and increased VR and VI during the neonatal period and first year post-term. These results suggest that the ventriculomegaly associated with neonatal intracranial hemorrhage cannot be explained by posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus alone and may also be related to cerebral atrophy or decreased brain growth or both. Neurodevelopmental assessments at 20 to 30 months of age disclosed significantly lower Bayley Motor Development scores in group 3 compared with groups 1 or 2. Four infants in group 3, but none in groups 1 or 2, had cerebral palsy. The neurodevelopmental deficits in group 3 infants may reflect the complex pathogenesis of the ventriculomegaly as well as the effects of the intraventricular hemorrhage and posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus.