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Abstract
Purpose:
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. It is controversial whether diffuse excessive high signal intensity (DEHSI) represents damage to the white matter or delayed myelination in preterm infants. This study investigated MRI findings for predicting the severity of neurodevelopmental outcomes and assessing whether preterm infants with DEHSI near term-equivalent age have abnormal neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Materials and Methods:
Preterm infants (n = 64, gestational age at birth < 35 weeks) undergoing brain MRI near term-equivalent age and subsequent neurodevelopmental outcomes were evaluated between 18 and 24 months of age. The associations of MRI findings and the risk of severe cognitive delay, severe psychomotor delay, cerebral palsy (CP), and neurosensory impairment were analyzed. The associations of DEHSI with risks of severe cognitive delay, severe psychomotor delay, CP, and neurosensory impairment (hearing or visual impairment) were analyzed. Outcome data were evaluated by logistic regression and the Fisher's exact test.
Results:
There were significant associations between abnormal white matter findings and delayed mental development, delayed psychomotor development, neurosensory impairment, and presence of CP. The presence of DEHSI was not correlated with delayed neurodevelopmental outcomes or presence of CP. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, cystic encephalomalacia, punctate lesion, loss of white matter volume and ventricular dilation were significantly associated with CP.
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Fig. 1.
Axial FLAIR (a) and (b) ADC map showing DEHSI at the level of the centrum semiovale. This male infant was born at 30+5 weeks with a birth weight of 1250 g. MRI was performed at gestational age of 36+2 weeks. He showed accelerated mental development index and psychomotor motor index.
Fig. 2.
(a, b) Cystic encephalomalacia (arrows) and punctate lesions (arrowheads) were seen in the parietal white matter. This male infant was born at 30+6 weeks with birth weight of 1620 g. MRI was performed at 38+2 weeks. He had PDA clipping. He showed delayed mental and psychomotor index at 2 years.
Table 1.
Associations between White Matter Abnormalities and Mental Developmental Scores, Presence of Neurosensory Impairment and Cerebral Palsy
White-matter abnormality was graded according to the scoring system of Woodward et al. (11), which assessed the nature and extent of white-matter signal abnormalit the loss in the volume of periventricular white matter, and the extent of any cystic abnormalities, ventricular dilatation, or the thinning of the corpus callosum. Th categories of white-matter abnormality were none (a score of 5 to 6), mild (a score of 7 to 9), moderate (a score of 10 to 12), and severe (a score of 13 to 15). For MDI, the post hoc test showed significant differences between none vs severe (P < 0.001), and mild vs severe (P = 0.001). For PDI, the post hoc test showed significant differences between none vs mild (P < 0.001), and none vs severe (P < 0.001). MDI = Mental Development Index; PDI = Psychomotor Development Index Data are reported as the mean ± SD for continuous variables and frequency (percentage) for categorical variables. P-values were calculated by one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni's multiple comparison test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables. P < 0.05 was taken to indicate significance.
Table 2.
Associations between DEHSI and Mental Development Score, Psychomotor Development Score, Presence of Neurosensory Impairment, and Cerebral Palsy
DEHSI = diffuse excessive high signal intensity
Data are reported as the mean ± SD for continuous variables and frequency (percentage) for categorical variables.
P-values were calculated by independent two-samples t-test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables.
P < 0.05 was taken to indicate significance.
Table 3.
Logistic Regression Analyses of Risk of Developing CP According to MR Features
Table 4.
Logistic Regression Analyses for Delayed Development on Bayley Scale According to MR Features
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