Hypothesis: in very preterm (VPT) subjects at 14 years a) serious neonatal US lesions persist b) MRI identifies more lesions than US.

Study design: prospective cohort study.

Sample: in 1979-80, 105 VPT (<33 weeks) infants survived after admission to University College London Hospital. At a mean age of 14.9 years, 70 of 92 survivors living in the UK had brain MRI.

Measurements: neonatal US: linear array apparatus (ADR 2130), 5 or 7 MHz probe, from birth to discharge. US findings were defined as previously published[1]. MRI: 1.5T GE Sigma machine, sagittal, axial and 3D weighted image sequences. Brain MRI were assessed qualitatively by two neuroradiologists blind to the US findings.

Results: Table

Table 1
Full size table

Conclusions: in adolescent VPT subjects a) hypoxic-ischaemic lesions identified by neonatal US which carry a poor prognosis for adverse outcomes, persist b) MRI identifies more lesions than neonatal US.