[Value of computerized axial tomography of the brain in children born with asphyxia (author's transl)]

Computerized axial tomographies (CAT) of the brain were performed between the ages of 2 days and 2 years in 27 infants having suffered from severe birth asphyxia. CAT were normal in 11 babies, hemorrhage was found in 5 infants, hypodense areas in 3, brain edema in 4, atrophy in 5, pseudo-porencephalic cysts in 2 and lesions of the central nuclei in 2. An abnormal CAT was demonstrated in 12 of 17 patients who inhibited major neurological troubles during the neonatal period and in 4 of 10 who suffered less important disorders. 16 of 23 survivors were followed up after they left the hospital. 7 showed neuro-developmental anomalies. 5 of these 7 had abnormal scans. Among the 9 patients whose neurological examination was normal, one suffered a meningeal hemorrhage which resorbed without any clinical or neuroradiological sequelae. The other 8 infants had normal CAT. These data underline the value of CAT in the evaluation of neonatal asphyxia and its sequelae.