SONOGRAPHIC DIAGNOSIS OF INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE AND PERIVENTRICULAR LEUKOMALACIA IN PREMATURE AFRICAN NEONATES

Transfontanelle ultrasound (US) was done prospectively and analyzed fo r intra-cranial hemorrhage (ICH) and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL ) in 110 premature infants. The babies were divided into two subgroups according to their birth weights (BW): those with BW of 1500 g or les s (n = 93) belonged to subgroup A while babies of BW between 1500 and 2500 g (n = 17) were placed in subgroup B. Overall incidence of ICH an d PVL was 24.5 and 26.4%, respectively in the 110 cases studied. Under subgroup A, 26/93 (28.0%) cases had ICH while 22/93 (23.7%) cases had PVL. In subgroup B, 2/17 (11.8%) cases had ICH while PVL was noted in 7/17 (41.2%) cases. These results show that premature African childre n have a lower incidence of ICH but a higher incidence of PVL compared to babies from temperate regions. Genetic and environmental factors a re probably responsible for these variations in the occurence of both diseases in population groups from different geographical locations. ( C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.