Impaired brain growth and neurodevelopment in preterm infants with posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation.

AIM: To correlate volumetric magnetic resonance imaging at term with neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years in infants with posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation. Preterm infants with posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation have high risk of disabilities, but the range is wide and predicting severity of motor and mental disability is difficult.

METHODS

Twenty-five preterm infants with posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation had cerebral magnetic resonance imaging at term age. Total and regional brain volumes were calculated using a manual segmentation technique. Bayley Scales of Infant Development II were assessed at 2 years post-term. Developmental Quotients (DQ) were calculated from Developmental Age Equivalent scores.

RESULTS

Total cerebral volume, excluding ventricles, correlated positively with Motor (r = 0.7, p < 0.0001) and Mental DQ (r = 0.4, p = 0.02). Only three of 16 infants with cerebral volume <336 cm(3) were ambulant at 2 years. Cerebellar volumes correlated strongly with Motor DQ (r = 0.6, p = 0.002) but only with Mental DQ after adjustment. Thalamic volumes correlated strongly with Motor DQ (r = 0.7, p = 0.0002).

CONCLUSION

Brain growth is significantly impaired in posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation. Volumetric measurements at term of total cerebral and cerebellar volume may have a role in predicting severity of disability.