Abstract
In the differential diagnosis of hospitalized malnourished infants, central nervous system malformations and genetic abnormalities should be considered. 38 malnourished infants referred by “Corporación para la Nutrición Infantil” (CCNIN) for being refractory to usual nutritional supplementation and/or having possible genetic abnormalities, were evaluated with Cerebral Ultrasound via anterior fontanella (CUS). 125 CUS were done in 38 patients (from 1 to 12 CUS, average 3.3) from 3 to 24 months of age. Most frequent causes for referral were persistent malnutrition 20 (53%), macrocephaly 9 (24%), moderate to severe psychomotor retardation 6 (16%), nonspecific genetic anomalies 5 (13%), small for gestational age 4 (11%). 22 patients (58%) showed normal CUS, 16 (42%) showed abnormal findings: cerebral atrophy (8 patients), corpus callosun malformations (4), periventricular calcifications (2), multiple cerebral malformations (1), etc. A higher incidence of CUS anomalies was seen in patients referred for: decreased neonatal development for gestacional age (75%), psychomotor delay (66%), prolonged malnutrition (45%) and abnormal genetic features (40%). We conclude that the large number of malnourished infants not recovering in the usual pattern, who present abnormal CUS (42%), demonstrates the value of including CUS in the evaluation of these patients.
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Balassa, R., Pinto, F. CRANIAL ULTRASOUND IN MALNOURISHED INFANTS RESISTANT TO USUAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTATION. Pediatr Res 22, 368 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198709000-00029
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198709000-00029