PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Roychaudhuri, Sriya
AU  - Côté-Corriveau, Gabriel
AU  - Erdei, Carmina
AU  - Inder, Terrie E.
TI  - White Matter Injury on Early-versus-Term-Equivalent Age Brain MRI in Infants Born Preterm
AID  - 10.3174/ajnr.A8105
DP  - 2024 Feb 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 224--228
VI  - 45
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/45/2/224.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/45/2/224.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2024 Feb 01; 45
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: White matter injury in infants born preterm is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, depending on the extent and location. White matter injury can be visualized with MR imaging in the initial weeks following preterm birth but is more commonly defined at term-equivalent-age MR imaging. Our aim was to see how white matter injury detection in MR imaging compares between the 2 time points.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study compared white matter injury on early brain MR imaging (30–34 weeks’ postmenstrual age) with white matter injury assessment at term-equivalent (37–42 weeks) MR imaging, using 2 previously published and standardized scoring systems, in a cohort of 30 preterm infants born at <33 weeks’ gestational age.RESULTS: There was a strong association between the systematic assessments of white matter injury at the 2 time points (P = .007) and the global injury severity (P < .001).CONCLUSIONS: Although the optimal timing to undertake neuroimaging in the preterm infant remains to be determined, both early (30–34 weeks) and term-equivalent MR imaging provide valuable information on white matter injury and the risk of associated sequelae.CUScranial ultrasoundIVHintraventricular hemorrhageNICUneonatal intensive care unitPMApostmenstrual ageTEAterm-equivalent ageWMIwhite matter injury