Relationship of the cranial ultrasound results – neurosonography – with the outcomes of psychomotor development of very premature infants

Abstract

This article analyzes the neurosonography results and compares with neurological symptoms in premature infants with very low and extremely low birth weight. The authors retrospectively assessed the cranial ultrasound results from neonatal intensive care units and outpatient hospitals. Group 1: monthly cranial ultrasound despite of clinical symptoms and psychomotor development; Group 2: only according to indications - in case of deterioration of neurological status or a decrease in the psychomotor skills development. The neurological outcome was compared with intracranial lesions identified in the neonatal period (intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia etc.). It was found that continuous ultrasound monitoring was not required in the absence of clinical and laboratory signs of neurological distress, since the results of the study, including deviation from the norm, did not affect the treatment tactics. Only presence of clinical symptoms required treatment.