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Published on: September 27, 2010
Cerebral Ultrasound at Term-Equivalent Age: Correlations with Neuro-Motor Outcomes at 12-24 Months Corrected Age
Adrian Ioan Toma1,2, Vlad Dima3, Lidia Rusu4
1Life Memorial Hospital, 010719 Bucharest, Romania.
Insights
Cerebral ultrasound findings at term-equivalent age correlate with neuro-motor outcomes in preterm infants. Abnormalities in white and grey matter on ultrasound predict motor deficits at 12 and 24 months corrected age.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Neurology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Preterm infants face risks of neurodevelopmental impairments.
- Cerebral ultrasound is a key tool for assessing brain structure in neonates.
- Early identification of neuro-motor risks is crucial for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To correlate cerebral ultrasound findings at term-equivalent age (TEA) with neuro-motor outcomes at 12 and 24 months corrected age in preterm infants.
- To identify specific ultrasound markers predictive of gross and fine motor deficits.
- To investigate the involvement of both white and grey matter structures.
Main Methods:
- Cerebral ultrasound assessed parameters like ventricular size, basal ganglia diameter, and cortical depth at TEA.
- Neuro-motor development evaluated using the Amiel Tison neurologic examination and motor acquisition milestones.
- Statistical analysis (FANOVA test) used to determine significant associations (p < 0.05).
Main Results:
- Abnormal gross motor skills at 12 and 24 months correlated with increased ventricular midbody size and decreased basal ganglia diameter.
- At 24 months, impaired motor outcomes also associated with decreased cortical depth and immature gyral patterns.
- Fine motor deficits showed similar associations, particularly with ventricular size and gyral maturation.
Conclusions:
- Cerebral ultrasound findings at TEA are significantly associated with neuro-motor outcomes in preterm infants.
- Ultrasound can detect both white matter (ventricular size) and grey matter (basal ganglia, cortex, gyration) abnormalities.
- These findings highlight the utility of neonatal neuroimaging for predicting long-term neurodevelopmental trajectories.
Abstract:
Background/Objectives: Our research aimed to assess if correlations could be found between items evaluated at the cerebral ultrasound performed at term-equivalent age (TEA) and neuro-motor outcomes evaluated at 12 and 24 months of corrected age in a group of preterm infants. Methods: The following were assessed: the Levine Index, the diagonals of the lateral ventricles, the size of the ventricular midbody, the sinocortical distance, the width of the basal ganglia, the cortical depth at the level of the cingular sulcus and the maturation of the gyral folding. The neurologic evaluation was performed at 12 and 24 months of corrected age, according to the Amiel Tison neurologic examination, and the items from the calendar of motor acquisitions were used as outcome measures of the study-gross and fine motor subsets. The comparisons between the different groups were performed using the FANOVA test, with a statistically significant association for a p < 0.05. Results: The abnormal gross motor acquisitions at 12 months were significantly associated with an increased size of the ventricular midbody (p < 0.009) and a significantly decreased diameter of the basal ganglia (p < 0.011) on the TEA cerebral ultrasound. At 24 months, a significant association was found with increased size of the ventricular midbody (>10.33 mm) (p < 0.001), a decreased diameter of the basal ganglia (<12.9 mm) (p < 0.016), a decreased cortical depth (p < 0.021) and an immature gyral maturation pattern (p < 0.001). In the case of severely abnormal fine motor outcomes, at 12 months, there were statistically significant associations with an increased size of the ventricular midbody (p < 0.001) and an immature gyral folding pattern (p < 0.0180); at 24 months, significant associations were noted with the size of ventricular midbody (p < 0.001), a decreased diameter of the basal ganglia (p < 0.016), a decreased cortical depth (p < 0.021) and an immature gyration folding (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The abnormal gross and fine motor outcome in former premature infants at 12-24 months corrected age is significantly associated with abnormal findings in the head ultrasound examination performed at TEA reflecting both white matter (increased midbody distance) and grey matter (decreased diameter of the basal ganglia, decreased cortical depth and an immature gyration pattern) involvement.
