Hypoxic ischemic cerebral lesions of the newborn--ultrasound diagnosis. Pictorial essay.

Transcranial ultrasonography is the most widely used neuroimaging technique in both premature and full term infants. The high susceptibility to hypoxia of the preterm brain explains the raised prevalence of intracranial haemorrhages at this group of patients. Ultrasound examination contributes to assessment of the neurologic status in children by diagnosing and staging of the intracranial bleeding, and brings informations about immediate and long term prognosis. The two major pictures of cerebral damage secondary to perinatal hypoxia are: peri and intraventricular haemorrhages and periventricular leucomalacia respectively. This paper present the major features for ultrasound diagnosis in both pathological situations.