Physical condition of preterm infants with periventricular leukomalacia

The aim of this study is to determine the general condition of preterm infants with severe brain lesions and to compare it with that of normal preterm infants. The Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology (SNAP) was calculated in nine preterm infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) whose initial electroencephalograms showed grade IV depression (PVL group), 18 preterm infants who did not require mechanical ventilation during the neonatal period, Spontaneous respiration (SR group), and 18 preterm infants who required mechanical ventilation (MV group). The sum of the following four items in SNAP was separately calculated and called the 'lung score': PaO2, PaO2/FiO(2) ratio, PaCO2, and oxygenation index. In addition to SNAP, we evaluated some neonatal variables. SNAP is lower in the SR group than in the PVL (P < 0.05) or MV (P < 0.01) groups. The lung score was also lower in the SR group than in the PVL (P < 0.05) or MV (P < 0.01) groups. On the other hand, the residual score (SNAP minus lung score) was not significantly different among the three groups. The physical condition of infants with PVL was not poor, although respiratory distress was often observed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.