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Comparing head ultrasounds and susceptibility-weighted imaging for the detection of low-grade hemorrhages in preterm infants

Journal of Perinatology volume 41, pages 736–742 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a complication of prematurity. Grades III and IV IVH lead to significant morbidity, but mounting evidence shows low-grade IVH (grades I–II) may be associated with adverse sequelae. Head ultrasounds (HUS) are used to screen infants for IVH but may miss low-grade IVH. Our study compared the results of HUS around 7 days of age to susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) obtained at term-corrected age in infants born at <30 wGA.

Study design

Infants <30 weeks gestational age (GA) with an HUS and MRI at admission to UF Health were identified by a retrospective chart review. Images were re-read by a pediatric neuroradiologist.

Results

Ninety-four infants with a mean GA of 25.8 weeks were identified. Of those with normal HUS, 50% had low-grade IVH on the term-corrected MRI.

Conclusions

HUS are effective for screening for high-grade IVH. SWI is more sensitive in identifying low-grade IVH.

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Fig. 1: Gestational age distribution of patients.
Fig. 2: These two graphs show the false positive and false negative findings of head ultrasounds when compared to MRI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Parvathi Nataraj, Livia Sura, Kelly Curry & Michael D. Weiss

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Marcela Svojsik

  3. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Nikolay Bliznyuk

  4. Department of Radiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Dhanashree Rajderkar

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  1. Parvathi Nataraj
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Correspondence to Parvathi Nataraj.

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Nataraj, P., Svojsik, M., Sura, L. et al. Comparing head ultrasounds and susceptibility-weighted imaging for the detection of low-grade hemorrhages in preterm infants. J Perinatol 41, 736–742 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00890-x

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