Periventricular Leukomalacia -Correlations with Low Apgar Score and Perinatal Hypoxia

摘要

Introduction: Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a major ischemic brain lesion in preterm infants with serious long term neurodevelopmental consequences.Material and methods: The prospective study comprised 2116 preterm infants who underwent head ultrasonography (HUS) using a serial scanning protocol for improved detection of PVL. Clinical and sonographic data were collected and statistical analysis was done using SPSS 10.0 for Windows.Results: 112 cases of PVL were identified, the incidence of the disease being 5,29%, most of the cases occurring between 30 and 34 wks gestation. Prematures diagnosed with PVL had significant lower gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW) than the control group matched for GA. Apgar score less than 7 at 1, 5 and 10' and the presence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) were significantly correlated with PVL (p < 0,05).Conclusions: HUS can be used to identify PVL and to establish correlations with perinatal hypoxia and low Apgar score.