The prenatal causes of slight lateral ventricular enlargement in infants treated in a neonatal intensive care unit

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the prenatal causes of slight lateral ventricular enlargement in infants treated in a neonatal intensive care unit. Methods We examined 318 infants with a gestational age of at least 28 weeks who were treated in a neonatal intensive care unit. We investigated the relationships between slight lateral ventricular enlargement and prenatal factors. Also, we investigated the relationships between the laterality of lateral ventricular enlargement and arm growth to verify our proposed mechanism of lateral ventricular enlargement. Results Slight lateral ventricular enlargement was observed in 97 (30.5%) infants. Slight lateral ventricular enlargement was related to gestational age (p < .001), maternal anemia (p = .025), diabetes mellitus (p = .048), threatened premature labor (p = .027), and premature rupture of the membrane (p = .049). In 97 infants with ventricular enlargement, the numbers of infants with left-side dominant, equivalent, and right-side dominant laterality were 60 (61.9%), 27 (27.8%), and 10 (10.3%), respectively. Maternal anemia and diabetes mellitus were related to left-side dominant ventricular enlargement. Threatened premature labor and premature rupture of the membrane were related to right-side dominance. The laterality of lateral ventricular enlargement was not relate to that of the arm growth. Conclusions We propose that the main cause of slight lateral ventricular enlargement may not be malnutrition but instead may be hypoxic stress in utero.