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Previous Volume 355:685-694 August 17, 2006 Number 7 Next

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text PowerPoint Slide Set Supplementary Material Editorial by Dammann, O. Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

ABSTRACT

Background Very preterm infants are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed as a means of predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes in this population.

Methods We studied 167 very preterm infants (gestational age at birth, 30 weeks or less) to assess the associations between qualitatively defined white-matter and gray-matter abnormalities on MRI at term equivalent (gestational age of 40 weeks) and the risks of severe cognitive delay, severe psychomotor delay, cerebral palsy, and neurosensory (hearing or visual) impairment at 2 years of age (corrected for prematurity).

Results At two years of age, 17 percent of infants had severe cognitive delay, 10 percent had severe psychomotor delay, 10 percent had cerebral palsy, and 11 percent had neurosensory impairment. Moderate-to-severe cerebral white-matter abnormalities present in 21 percent of infants at term equivalent were predictive of the following adverse outcomes at two years of age: cognitive delay (odds ratio, 3.6; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.5 to 8.7), motor delay (odds ratio, 10.3; 95 percent confidence interval, 3.5 to 30.8), cerebral palsy (odds ratio, 9.6; 95 percent confidence interval, 3.2 to 28.3), and neurosensory impairment (odds ratio, 4.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 11.3). Gray-matter abnormalities (present in 49 percent of infants) were also associated, but less strongly, with cognitive delay, motor delay, and cerebral palsy. Moderate-to-severe white-matter abnormalities on MRI were significant predictors of severe motor delay and cerebral palsy after adjustment for other measures during the neonatal period, including findings on cranial ultrasonography.

Conclusions Abnormal findings on MRI at term equivalent in very preterm infants strongly predict adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years of age. These findings suggest a role for MRI at term equivalent in risk stratification for these infants.

Source Information

From the University of Canterbury and the Van der Veer Institute for Parkinson's and Brain Research (L.J.W.) and Christchurch Women's Hospital (N.C.A.) — all in Christchurch, New Zealand; the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (P.J.A., T.E.I.) and the Department of Psychology (K.H.), University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; and the Department of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Radiology, St. Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University, St. Louis (T.E.I.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Woodward at the Canterbury Child Development Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand, or at lianne.woodward{at}canterbury.ac.nz.

Full Text of this Article

Related Letters:

Neonatal MRI and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
Suresh G. K., Teachey D. T., Inder T. E., Woodward L. J., Anderson P. J.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2006; 355:2373-2375, Nov 30, 2006. Correspondence

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