C. A. Santosh Varma 1 , Malle Vijay Kumar 2
BACKGROUND The aim of the study is to evaluate the spectrum of intracranial abnormalities among neonates and infants undergoing transcranial neurosonography. MATERIALS AND METHODS Serial sonographic scans from neonates and infants admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit between February 2015 and February 2016 by radiologists. Design/Setting- Observational study at teaching hospital. RESULTS In our study, out of 124 newborns and infants who were clinically suspected to have some intracranial pathology, there were 181 abnormal sonographic findings in 93/124 (75%) of patients. Hydrocephalus of various aetiologies was the most common abnormality in 45/181 (24.86%) of patients. Among them, 23 had congenital hydrocephalus and rest of the patients had either infection or haemorrhage as causative factors followed by 8/181 (4.42%) cerebral oedema, ventriculitis in 9/181 (4.97%) and 16/181 (8.84%) cerebral infarcts. Others included 25/181 (13.81%) intraventricular haemorrhage, 33/181 (18.23%) periventricular leukomalacia, 8/181 (4.42%) porencephalic cysts, 8/181 (4.42%) encephalomalacia and 2/181 (1.10%) hypoxic ischaemia. Developmental anomalies such as (1/181, 0.55%) Dandy-Walker malformation and (1/181, 0.55%) hydranencephaly were also observed. CONCLUSION Neurosonography offers the most economical and highly accurate techniques for imaging intracranial pathologies in the neonates and infants. It should, therefore, be employed as a routine screening modality for intracranial pathologies in all the newborn babies and infants
