Cystic periventricular leukomalacia and type of cerebral palsy in preterm infants

A case series design was used to identify cases of cystic periventricular leukomalacia (N = 31) identified by neurosonography at one regional tertiary intensive care nursery. Patients were preterm infants born at ≤32 weeks of gestation who had cysts involving predominantly the middle-posterior or posterior periventricular regions. Neurodevelopmental evaluations were made for 26 (96%) of 27 survivors. All infants assessed had cerebral palsy (i.e., 54% quadriplegia, 42% diplegia, and 4% hemiplegia). Most cognitive delays and all sensory impairments occurred in children with quadriplegia. Periventricular cysts were most extensive on parasagittal, anteroposterior views. The parasagittal, anteroposterior extent of periventricular cysts was most accurate in predicting the type and severity of motor and cognitive disabilities. Quadriplegia was associated with larger and more extensive cysts. (J PEDIATR 1994;125:S1-8)