Abnormal head ultrasounds and neurodevelopmental outcome

Abstract

Severe intracranial hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia are believed to be strong predictors of poor neurodevelopmental outcome in extremely immature infants. The article by Broitman et al examines the ability of head ultrasounds, obtained during routine care to accurately predict neurodevelopmental outcomes. The authors compared the predictive capabilities of the commonly used ultrasound classification system (that considers increasing grades of IVH as a progression of a single disease) with clinical risk factors alone.