Echographic features of brain structures in children born with very low and extremely low body weight, in comparison with the clinical picture

Immature brain structures of very premature infants determine the features of the echographic picture at birth, as well as in the neoand postneonatal period. The article presents an analysis of the results of ultrasound studies of the brain (from birth to 18 months of corrected age) in comparison with the clinical and laboratory data of 489 very premature infants born with very low and extremely low body weight. The comparison of neurosonographic data and the results of clinical examination indicate that the echographic picture of the brain structures of very premature infants may differ from that of the mature infants and it does not require medical correction in the absence of neurological manifestations. The most characteristic echographic features in the first years of life are moderate dilatation of the intrathecal spaces, lateral ventricles and cisterns of the brain. Intraventricular hemorrhages in deeply premature infants occur with a high frequency, while degree III intraventricular hemorrhages, as well as periventricular and diffuse leukomalacia, are prognostically unfavorable factors leading to the development of severe neurological defects.