Influence of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage on cerebral blood flow of preterm infants in the late postnatal period observed by arterial spin labeling: a prospective study / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To study the influence of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (PVH-IVH) on cerebral blood flow (CBF) of preterm infants in the late postnatal period using arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods:From January 2023 to June 2023, 65 preterm infants (gestational age <32 weeks, birth weight <1 500 g) who were born in the Department of Obstetrics, Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit were included in the prospective study.They were examined by the brain MRI and ASL at the corrected gestational age of 35-40 weeks.According to the results of the brain ultrasound within 1 week after birth, they were divided into the mild IVH group (25 cases) and the non-IVH group (40 cases). The CBF values in regions of interest (frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, thalamus, and basal ganglia) on ASL images were compared.Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of PVH-IVH on CBF values in different ASL regions of interest, including frontal cortex, temporal cortex, parietal cortex, occipital cortex, thalamus, and basal ganglia.Results:Compared with those of non-IVH group, infants in the mild IVH group presented significantly older gestational age [29.0 (28.5, 30.4) weeks vs.28.2 (27.0, 31.0) weeks, Z=-2.398, P=0.016], higher hematocrit (HCT) in the latest examination prior to the brain MRI [29.6(26.4, 32.3)% vs.27.8 (25.6, 30.5)%, Z=-2.155, P=0.031], and larger body weight at the time of examination [2 015.0 (1 930.0, 2 127.5) g vs.1 950.0 (1 900.0, 1 997.5) g, Z=-3.314, P=0.001]. After adjustment for confounding factors of gestational age at birth, latest HCT and weight at the time of examination, the multivariable linear regression analysis showed that CBF values in the frontal lobe (95% CI: -8.367--4.042; P<0.001), temporal lobe (95% CI: -19.077--2.854; P=0.008), parietal lobe (95% CI: -8.344--3.502; P<0.001), occipital lobe (95% CI: -9.446--3.645; P<0.001), basal ganglia (95% CI: -7.543--1.963; P=0.001) and thalamus (95% CI: -8.051--2.372; P<0.001) were significantly lower in infants of the mild IVH group than those of non-IVH group. Conclusions:At the same corrected gestational age, mild IVH is correlated with low CBF values in local cerebral cortex and subcortical gray matter in premature infants.However, the predictive potential of CBF values in long-term neurological prognosis requires further explorations.