[Intracerebral hemorrhage and neuron-specific enolase in premature and full-term infants--a clinical study].

In a prospective study 199 risk newborn infants were examined by means of cerebral ultrasound scanning and after this the influence of diagnosed intracerebral events on the concentration of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) was determined. The NSE may be valid as an indicator of intracerebral damage. A significant relationship between increased concentration of NSE and intracerebral haemorrhage of type II could be found only for the NSE-1 (determination from cordblood or from blood of the first or second day of life). The same relationship results for intracranial cystic rebuildings, destructions and enlargements of ventricles. The diagnostic tests of NSE-1 for intracerebral haemorrhages don't prove with a validity of 57.4% high prognostic value. Not until a NSE-1-level of 16.0 micrograms/l a predictive value of the positive test of 100% was calculated.