MRI Based Preterm White Matter Injury Classification: The Importance of Sequential Imaging in Determining Severity of Injury.

BACKGROUND:The evolution of non-hemorrhagic white matter injury (WMI) based on sequential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has not been well studied. Our aim was to describe sequential MRI findings in preterm infants with non-hemorrhagic WMI and to develop an MRI classification system for preterm WMI based on these findings. METHODS:Eighty-two preterm infants (gestation ≤35 weeks) were retrospectively included. WMI was diagnosed and classified based on sequential cranial ultrasound (cUS) and confirmed on MRI. RESULTS:138 MRIs were obtained at three time-points: early (