Unilateral ventricular dilatation. Follow-up during the first two years of life

A.I. Toma, A.I. Cuzino, A. Cozinov, R.G. Olteanu, G.C. Zaharie, V. Dima, R.E. Bohîlțea

Rezumat: Objective. To investigate if the unilateral ventricular dilatation detected by fetal and neonatal ultrasound is associated with neurological abnormalities during the first two years of life. Materials and method. A number of 1319 neonates were examined by head ultrasound on the first and third days of life. Prenatal histories and ultrasound were collected in all cases. There were selected the cases with unilateral ventricular dilatation that were examined by head ultrasound at one, two, four and six months and by clinical and neurologic examination and, if needed, using specific imaging and neurologic investigations at one, two, four, six, twelve months and at two years. Results. There were detected the dilatation of the left ventricle (18 cases), posterior horn of the left ventricle (88 cases), and posterior horn of the right ventricle (12 cases). All these cases were asymptomatic during the neonatal period and only six out 88 cases with left posterior horn dilatation and one of the 12 the cases with right posterior horn dilatation developed neurologic abnormalities. All these cases were identified before delivery by fetal ultrasound. The abnormalities identified were: tonus abnormalities – hypotonic at 4 and 6 months with normalization at 12 months in three out of 88 cases with left posterior horn dilatation and one out of 12 cases with dilatation of the posterior horn of the right ventricle. There were delays in the fine motor skills in all the six symptomatic cases with left ventricular dilation and in one out of 12 cases with right ventricular dilation. Conclusions. Unilateral ventricular dilatation detected by neonatal ultrasound is usually asymptomatic. The symptomatic cases are characterized by transient tonus abnormalities and abnormalities in the fine motor skills.
Cuvinte cheie: unilateral ventricular dilatation, ultrasound, outcome, neurologic, fine motor.