Periventricular low density as a predictor of neurobehavioral outcome in very low-birthweight infants

Sixty-four low-birthweight infants (less than 1500 g) were studied prospectively by cranial computerized tomography (CT) and by periodic neurobehavioral assessments. CT scans were obtained at 40 weeks postconceptional age. Neurobehavioral development was assessed by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at seven, 12 and 18 months corrected age. 47 infants (73 per cent) had areas of diffuse periventricular low densities (PVLD). As a group, infants with PVLD had deviant Bayley scores for both mental and motor development at all follow-up ages. Scores for these infants were significantly lower than scores for infants with normal CT scans or scans with only focal low densities. It is concluded that very-low birthweight infants have an unexpectedly high prevalence of diffuse PVLD, and that this CT finding at 40 weeks postconceptional age is associated with abnormal neurobehavioral development throughout the first 18 months of life.