Brain MRI findings in near-term and term infants admitted to a neonatal ward.

Authors

Xiaoling Hu, Yubing Chen, Wenwen Chen, Licong Lin

Published in

Frontiers in neurology. Volume 17. Pages 1792288. Epub Aug 03, 2026.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the incidence and patterns of abnormalities detected on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in near-term and term infants admitted to the neonatal ward.
A retrospective analysis was conducted of 714 near-term or term neonates (≥36 weeks' gestation) who were admitted to a tertiary neonatal ward between January 2023 and December 2023 and who underwent brain MRI scans.
Abnormal MRI findings were observed in 254 of 714 (35.6%) infants. The most common abnormalities were non-parenchymal hemorrhage, present in 162 of 714 (22.7%) infants, including subarachnoid hemorrhage (20.9%), cephalohematoma (11.2%), subdural hemorrhage (5.6%), extradural hemorrhage (5.6%), and intraventricular hemorrhage (2.8%), followed by brain parenchymal injury, present in 102 of 714 (14.3%) infants. Non-cerebral parenchymal hemorrhage and brain parenchymal injury were more frequently observed after vaginal deliveries and were associated with resuscitation with positive-pressure ventilation at birth and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Subependymal cysts were observed in 31 of 714 (4.3%) infants and were not associated with perinatal insults. Congenital variations or deformities were found in 8 of 714 (1.1%) infants.
Abnormal brain MRI findings were common in infants admitted to the neonatal ward after birth due to perinatal risk factors. The association between these MRI-defined cerebral injuries and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes remains unclear and should be explored in long-term longitudinal studies using quantitative volumetric techniques to assess MRI-defined brain injuries and more sensitive instruments to address cognitive function.

PMID:
42609317
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 18 Aug 2026.

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