Place of ultrasongraphic in screening brain lesions in premature newborn at Cotonou

Abstract

Abstract Goal: The goal of this study is to define the epidemiological profile and identify the different brain lesions diagnosed in ultrasonography in preterm infants in Benin environment. Patients and methods: It is a prospective cross-sectional study of analytical aiming. It took place over a period of 6 months, from May 1st to October 31st, 2012 at the National Hospital University Centre Koutoukou Hubert Maga in neonatal units and medical scanning unit. It covered 105 premature newborn, classified into the very prematurity and the moderate prematurity. Results: The very premature represented 35.2% and the moderate premature 64.8%, with an average of 33.5% and 1.9 of standard deviation. The average age when implementing ultrasonographic transfontanellar was 7.2 ± 4.6 days old. The lowest birth weight was observed in very premature with p = 0.0025. The nasopharyngeal septum pellucidum was the most found lesions in 46 preterm infants (43.8%) with no statistically significantly difference in two groups, followed by the ventricular haemorrhage found in 21 preterm infants accounting for 20%, and the grade 1 or sub-ependymal haemorrhage prevailed in 14 premature accounting for 66.7%, afterward periventricular leukomalacia in 4 premature infants and hydrocephalus in 2 premature. Conclusion: The nasopharyngeal septum pellucidum and the sub-ependymal ventricular haemorrhage were the predominant anomalies in premature infants followed by leukomalacia.