Ultrasound diagnosis of birth-related spinal cord trauma: neonatal diagnosis and follow-up and correlation with MRI.

Two neonates, one with complete and one with incomplete birth-related transection of the cervico-thoracic spinal cord, form the basis of this report. Ultrasound and MRI findings in primary diagnosis and follow-up are described. The aim of this contribution is to bring this serious birth complication to the attention of the reader, to present the obstetrical risk factors, to describe the clinical presentation of the newborns and to make suggestions to expand the field of indications for spinal sonography. The value of spinal ultrasound in the first six months of life is stressed, especially in comparison to MRI. For definitive assessment of the lesion (transectional or nontransectional) follow-up ultrasound studies for several weeks are required.