CRANIAL ULTRASOUND ALTERATIONS IN PRETERM NEONATES AND CORRELATION WITH PERINATAL RISK FACTORS

Zeinab Alia*, Oday Jouni and Mazen Ghalia

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Preterm infants are exposed to a wide spectrum of brain injuries, many of which may be clinically silent. This highlights the important role of cranial ultrasound screening in preterm neonates. This study aimed to detect brain injuries in preterm infants using cranial ultrasound during the first week after birth and to evaluate the association between brain injuries and perinatal risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical observational study was conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Latakia University Hospital. The study included 76 preterm infants admitted to the NICU, who underwent cranial ultrasound according to inclusion criteria. Various abnormal cranial ultrasound findings were recorded, and the relationship between these findings and perinatal risk factors was examined. Results: Out of the 76 preterm infants, 47.4% had abnormal cranial ultrasound findings. The most common finding was intraventricular hemorrhage (47.2%), followed by periventricular white matter hyperechogenicity (27.8%), cerebral edema (16.7%), periventricular white matter hypoechogenicity (5.8%), and ventriculomegaly (2.8%). Abnormal cranial ultrasound findings were significantly associated with a birth weight less than 1500 grams (P=0.0001) and gestational age less than 32 weeks (P=0.02). There was also a significant correlation between abnormal ultrasound findings and respiratory distress syndrome (P=0.005), sepsis (P=0.003), and perinatal hypoxia (P=0.01). Conclusion: This study has confirmed the role of cranial ultrasound as an important tool for early detection of many types of brain injury that are considered major causes of later motor, behavioral, and cognitive disorders. It has also demonstrated a significant association between abnormal cranial ultrasound findings and factors such as gestational age, birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome, perinatal hypoxia, and sepsis.

Keywords: Cranial ultrasound, prematurity, perinatal risk factors.