Neonatal Cranial Ultrasound Findings among Infants Born Extremely Preterm: Associations with Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 10 Years of Age

Heather Campbell, Jennifer Check, Karl C K Kuban, Alan Leviton, Robert M Joseph, Jean A Frazier, Laurie M Douglass, Kyle Roell, Elizabeth N Allred, Lynn Ansley Fordham, Stephen R Hooper, Hernan Jara, Nigel Paneth, Irina Mokrova, Hongyu Ru, Hudson P Santos Jr, Rebecca C Fry, T Michael O’Shea

J Pediatr. 2021 Oct;237:197-205.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.05.059. Epub 2021 Jun 4. PMID: 34090894; PMCID: PMC8478718.

PubMed Link

Ultrasound-identified white matter damage (WMD) without intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) was associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.7, 7.4), cerebral palsy (OR 14.3, 95% CI 6.5, 31.5), and epilepsy (OR 6.9; 95% CI 2.9, 16.8). Similar associations were found for WMD accompanied by IVH. Isolated IVH was not significantly associated these outcomes. Among children born extremely preterm, CUS abnormalities, particularly those indicative of WMD, are predictive of neurodevelopmental impairments at 10 years of age. The strongest associations were found with cerebral palsy.

ELGAN