PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF EARLY SOMATOSENSORY-EVOKED POTENTIALS IN NEONATESWITH CYSTIC LEUKOMALACIA

Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) were performed between 31 and 4 9 weeks postmenstrual age on 33 neonates with extensive cystic leukoma lacia. 27 had periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), while six had deep w hite matter lesions. All but two of the 27 infants with PVL had a repr oducible potential at discharge, being delayed in 11 and within the no rmal range in 14. No potentials could be obtained in any of the infant s with cysts in the deep white matter. All surviving infants developed severe neurological sequelae, irrespective of the N1 being delayed or within normal range. These data suggest that in infants with an ultra sound diagnosis of cystic leukomalacia, little additional information with regard to neurodevelopmental outcome is provided by performing me dian nerve SEPs, especially for those infants in whom the cystic lesio ns are restricted to the occipital periventricular white matter.