Neonatal cranial ultrasound

Ultrasound findings and specific intrinsic blood volume expansion therapy for neonatal capillary leak syndrome: report from a multicenter prospective self-control study

OBJECTIVE

Capillary leak syndrome (CLS) is characterized by severe systemic edema without specific treatment, resulting in a high mortality rate. This study investigated whether there is organ edema in neonatal CLS patients and specific treatment strategies to improve patient prognosis.

METHODS

Thirty-seven newborns diagnosed with CLS were included in this study. (1) Routine point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) was used to identify whether the patients had visceral edema or fluid collection. (2) All patients were treated with 3% NaCl intravenously, and the clinical manifestations, laboratory indices and outcomes were compared before and after treatment.

RESULTS

(1) Diffuse severe edema was found in 92.0% of the patients. (2) The POCUS examination revealed that CLS patients exhibited significant visceral edema in addition to diffuse severe edema, which included pulmonary edema in 67.6%, cerebral edema in 37.8%, severe intestinal edema in 24.3%, severe myocardial edema in 8.1%, pericardial effusion in 5.4%, pleural effusion in 29.7% and peritoneal effusion in 18.9%. Two patients (5.45%) had only myocardial edema without other manifestations. (3) Before and after the intravenous injection of 3% NaCl, there were no significant differences in the serum sodium or potassium levels of CLS patients, while the hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were significantly lower after treatment (p < 0.01). Her plasma ALB concentration and arterial pressure returned to normal levels after the treatment was completed. (4) All the patients survived, and no side effects or complications were observed during or after treatment with 3% NaCl.

CONCLUSIONS

(1) In addition to diffuse severe edema, visceral edema and effusion are common and important clinical manifestations of neonatal CLS and need to be detected by routine POCUS. (2) The intravenous injection of 3% NaCl is a safe, effective and specific treatment strategy for neonatal CLS, with a survival rate of 100% and no adverse effects.

The diagnostic yield of ultrasound of the head in healthy infants presenting with the clinical diagnosis of benign macrocrania

AIM

To investigate the frequency of sonographic findings that required neurosurgical consultation for all referred outpatients suspected to have benign macrocrania (BMC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective review was performed from September 2011 until June 2015 for all outpatients referred to the ultrasound (US) department for BMC. Electronic medical records, US images, and reports were reviewed in conjunction with follow-up imaging. Each review consisted of gender, specialty of referring physician, first head circumference, head circumference at or closest to the time of the head US, the last head circumference, and any neurological issue prior to the US, at the time of US, or following the US, and clinical outcomes. Statistical analysis employed the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test and Fischer's exact test (chi square test of independence) that compared normal/BMC patients from the patients requiring a neurosurgical consultation.

RESULTS

One hundred and thirty (40.9%) had a normal head US, 181 patients (56.9%) had sonographic findings of BMC, and seven (2.2%) patients had an abnormal head US that required a neurosurgical consultation. Of the 181 patients with BMC, 23 underwent follow-up imaging with 22 patients having unchanged BMC or a normal head US and one patient developing mild ventriculomegaly that was stable on follow-up imaging. Three of the seven patients (1%) aged 1.8, 2.3, and 13.1 months with abnormal head US requiring neurosurgical consultation, had mild ventriculomegaly that was stable on follow-up imaging. Four of the seven patients (1.2%) that required neurosurgical consultation needed a neurosurgical procedure. Between the two US subgroups (normal and BMC), no statistical significance was noted regarding age of patient at US, head circumference at clinical and radiological presentation (p>0.05) except for the first head circumference clinically documented which demonstrated statistical significance (p<0.03).

CONCLUSION

Short interval surveillance including head circumference and assessment for the development of bulging anterior fontanelle and neurological abnormalities may be more cost effective than US in the initial evaluation of patients clinically suspected to have BMC.

A review of the current treatment methods for posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus of infants

Posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) is a major problem for premature infants, generally requiring lifelong care. It results from small blood clots inducing scarring within CSF channels impeding CSF circulation. Transforming growth factor – beta is released into CSF and cytokines stimulate deposition of extracellular matrix proteins which potentially obstruct CSF pathways. Prolonged raised pressures and free radical damage incur poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. The most common treatment involves permanent ventricular shunting with all its risks and consequences.

This is a review of the current evidence for the treatment and prevention of PHH and shunt dependency. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library) and PubMed (from 1966 to August 2008) were searched. Trials using random or quasi-random patient allocation for any intervention were considered in infants less than 12 months old with PHH. Thirteen trials were identified although speculative interventions were also evaluated.

The literature confirms that lumbar punctures, diuretic drugs and intraventricular fibrinolytic therapy can have significant adverse effects and fail to prevent shunt dependence, death or disability. There is no evidence that postnatal phenobarbital administration prevents intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH). Subcutaneous reservoirs and external drains have not been tested in randomized controlled trials, but can be useful as a temporising measure. Drainage, irrigation and fibrinolytic therapy as a way of removing blood to inhibit progressive deposition of matrix proteins, permanent hydrocephalus and shunt dependency, are invasive and experimental. Studies of ventriculo-subgaleal shunts show potential as a temporary method of CSF diversion, but have high infection rates.

At present no clinical intervention has been shown to reduce shunt surgery in these infants. A ventricular shunt is not advisable in the early phase after PHH. Evidence exists that pre-delivery corticosteroid therapy reduces mortality and IVH and there may be trends towards reduced disability in the short term. There is also evidence that postnatal indomethacin reduces IVH but with no effect on mortality or disability. Overall, there is still no definitive algorithm for the treatment of PHH or prevention of shunt dependence. New therapeutic approaches in neonatal care, including those aimed at pre-empting PHH, offer the best hope of improving neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Neonatal neurological disorders involving the brainstem: neurosonographic approaches through the squamous suture and the foramen magnum

Brainstem damage which often indicates a critical condition is usually underestimated by trans-anterior-fontanel neurosonography (NS) owing to the far-field limitations. Instead, NS alternately scanning through the squamous suture of the temporal bones and the foramen magnum could provide a better visualization of the brainstem structures. The NS characteristics of brainstem lesions caused by various neonatal neurological disorders, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), metabolic encephalopathy, birth trauma and bacterial meningoencephalitis, can be depicted at the acute stage. An echogenic change in the midbrain was found in patients with HIE or metabolic encephalopathy. In addition to the echogenic change, bilateral transtentorial temporal lobe herniation distorting the contour of the midbrain was observed in a patient with group B streptococcus meningoencephalitis, whereas echogenic changes at the level of the pons and/or the medulla oblongata, mainly localized in the dorsal part, could be observed in newborns with severe HIE, maple syrup urine disease or birth trauma. In this pictorial assay, we demonstrate the feasibility of NS imaging in evaluating the entire brainstem structure of critically ill neonates in the near field and illustrate the characteristic features of brainstem involvement in various neonatal neurological disorders along with computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging correlation.

Evaluation of the ventricular system in children using transcranial ultrasound: reference values for routine diagnostics

In children, evaluation of the size of the ventricular system is important. Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD), a broadly available and easily applicable method that is not hampered by side effects, such as radiation, is a valuable tool for routine examinations. However, standard TCD values of the ventricular system are lacking. In this study, we performed TCD through the temporal acoustic bone window in a large cohort of 1693 healthy children. Of these, 157 had to be excluded because of insufficient bone windows. In the remaining children, a mean width of 1.4 +/- 0.8 mm for the third ventricle, 14.4 +/- 0.8 mm for the right and 14.6 +/- 0.7 mm for the left cella media, and 1.6 +/- 0.7 mm for the right and 1.9 +/- 0.8 mm for the left temporal horn were measured. Side differences are indicated and values are given in relation to age and gender. Inter-rater reproducibility obtained in 25 children was adequate, with no significant difference between the two measurements in any of the parts of the ventricular system measured, rendering these values suitable for reference.

Ethical considerations in neuroimaging and its impact on decision-making for neonates

Neuroimaging can now provide information about structure and function. Despite new and improved neuroimaging technologies applicable to the newborn, predictions about later cognition, learning, social and emotional behavior, and neuromuscular capabilities, based on images of a fetus inside or a newborn outside the womb, are fraught with difficulties that go beyond technical ones. The interpretation of neuroimages may be necessary but it is not sufficient for decision-making related to the withholding or withdrawing of medical support for neonates. As the explanatory reach of neuroimaging increases, there will still need to be consideration of ethical issues as they relate to the best interests of the neonate and the neonate's parents, the quality of life of the neonate and non-beneficial treatment. Once this is appreciated, the boundary between the technical and the ethical will be less often disputed.

Clinical concerns in the ultrasound exposure of the developing central nervous system

Neurosonography is used as a primary imaging modality worldwide for visualization of the developing brain and spinal cord in fetuses, infants and children. During the entire process of brain development, there is rapid cell turnover, a condition that is favorable for genetic mutations once external stimuli are applied. No clinical studies in humans have been performed specifically to discuss the long-term impact of postnatal ultrasound exposure of the central nervous system. Currently published studies concerning the prenatal and postnatal use of Doppler or of ultrasound contrast agent use and the developing central nervous system are insufficient to draw meaningful conclusions regarding safety. By instituting a standardized examination and following appropriate patient handling guidelines, the risk of an adverse outcome associated with neurosonography is minimized. This paper recommends adoption of the ALARA principle and offers suggestions as to how to minimize the risk of adverse effects in neurosonography.