Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography in preterm infants with cystic periventricular leukomalacia

Abstract Aim This study aimed to assess amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) findings in preterm infants with cystic periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL) in the early neonatal period. Methods We analyzed five infants with cPVL, whose gestational age was between 27 and 30 weeks, and 15 matched control infants. Two-channel (C3–O1 and C4–O2) aEEG was obtained by digital conversion from a conventional electroencephalogram, which was recorded at days 0–5, 6–13, and 21–34 in each infant. We evaluated the averaged two-channel values of several measurements using visual and quantitative analyses. Results Infants with cPVL had a significant higher maximal upper-margin amplitude value, with a median of 47.5 μV (range of 42.5–60) compared with the control infants (median, 33.8; range, 23.8–50) in the second visual-analysis record. Infants with cPVL also had a significantly higher mean upper-margin amplitude value, with a median of 18.8 μV (range, 17.7–23.2) compared with the control infants (median, 16.3; range, 10.3–19.0) in the second quantitative-analysis record. Conclusions We demonstrated that the upper-margin amplitude of aEEG in infants with cPVL was significantly higher than that in the control infants at 6–13 days after birth.