[Early diagnosis of severe brain damage of premature and newborn infants under intensive care. A polygraphic study (author's transl)].

24 premature and newborn infants under intensive care (intubation and artificial respiration) were subjected to a polygraphic examination in order to diagnose severe brain damage already in the acute stage of a disease. The results collected in the polygraphic recording were correlated to the further development and progress of the infant. Nine infants die within one week--all of these underwent a post-Mortem examination. Diagnosis of brain damage was confirmed by post-mortem examination or by a clinical neurological follow-up examination. All infants with severe brain damage showed pathological polygraphic recordings. In contrast to this, clinical neurological examination at the time of the polygraphic recording did not reveal such pathological results in all of these infants. Important was the EEG, supplemented by determining the bioelectric brain maturation, the differentiation of sleep states and the correlation of these derived parameter to the behavior pattern of the infant. The heart rate frequency and variability could not be used to make an useful diagnostic statement.