CRANIAL ULTRASOUND AND MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING IN HYPOXIC-ISCHEMICENCEPHALOPATHY - A COMPARISON WITH OUTCOME

Forty term infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy were assessed during the neonatal period with cranial ultrasound and MRI, and the f indings were compared with outcome at one year of age. 38 had abnormal ities on ultrasound and all had changes on MRI. The incidence of chang es in the basal banglia/thalami and periventricular white matter was m uch greater with MRI than with ultrasound. Changes in the basal gangli a and thalami on MRI were associated with a poor outcome if they had a lso been detected with ultrasound. However, MRI identified four small infarcts which were not detected by ultrasound. There was no consisten t association between periventricular white matter change on MRI and o utcome. Regular ultrasound scanning identified all infants with a poor outcome. A normal ultrasound or isolated findings of intraventricular haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage or transient flares were associ ated with a normal outcome in 13 of 14 infants.