[The prognostic value of neonatal cranial ultrasonography in infants with periventricular leukomalacia].

Serial cranial ultrasonography was performed in 17 preterm infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) in the neonatal period. Periventricular high-echogenicities were observed in all infants, and periventricular cysts in 14/17 infants (82%). We investigated the correlation between these findings and abnormalities on MRI in late infancy. Periventricular high-echogenicity was correlated with the extent of periventricular high-intensities on T2-weighted images of late infantile MRI. The extent of periventricular cysts was correlated with that of volume loss on MRI during late infancy. The degree of periventricular echo-lesion was associated with that of neurological abnormalities of infants. The extent of periventricular echo-lesion has the same prognostic value as findings on MRI in infants with PVL.