PRENATAL PSEUDOCYSTS OF THE GERMINAL MATRIX IN PRETERM INFANTS

Sonographic characteristics of germinal-matrix (PGM) pseudocysts of pr enatal origin detected on cranial ultrasound in preterm newborns were correlated with their outcomes. PGM cysts were classified as typical o r atypical, according to their location. Typical PGM cysts were presen t at the head of the caudate nucleus or slightly medially, adjacent to the foramen of Monro. Cysts were defined as atypical when they were l ocated subependymally elsewhere. Only one infant of 16 with a typical PGM cyst presented with psychomotor retardation. His cerebral scan als o showed subependymal calcifications due to cytomegalovirus infection. Three babies had cysts in the frontal periventricular zones (atypical PGM cyst). They had negative cranial MRI (12-15 months of age) and no rmal neurological followup (24 months). In conclusion, isolated prenat al PGM cysts in preterm infants correlate with a normal outcome. (C) 1 997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.