The intracranial venous system in infants: normal and abnormal findings on duplex and color Doppler sonography.

Venous hypertension has been implicated as an important factor in the pathogenesis of neonatal brain injury under a variety of circumstances, such as periventricular hemorrhagic infarction in the preterm infant [1], cerebrovascular injury after treatment with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) [2], and thrombosis of the superior sagittal sinus. Although duplex and color Doppler sonographic techniques have been used to evaluate the intracranial arterial tree for several years, little attention has been paid to the role of Doppler techniques in the evaluation of the cerebral venous system. We describe the appearance of the normal infantile cerebral venous system on color and duplex Doppler sonograms and present a spectrum of abnormalities in venous hemodynamics in critically ill infants with the goal of familiarizing readers with the clinical potential of this technique.