Introduction: Perinatal asphyxia leading to Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy is a dreaded neurological disease of the newborn. The pattern of injury in brain imaging has crucial implications in therapies and predicted neurodevelopmental outcomes. Concurrent use of cranial ultrasound and clinical staging systems are evolving to predict the prognosis.

Objective: To study the cranial ultrasonographic finding in neonates with perinatal asphyxia and its clinical correlation.

Method: It is a prospective observational study of 100 term neonates with perinatal asphyxia admitted in the Neonatal ICU of Silchar Medical College & Hospital. Cranial Ultrasonography was done within 3-7 days of life.

Result: Correlation of initial cranial USG grading with mortality showed an increasing trend, as the USG grading increases, with 50 % and 80% mortality in cases presenting with Grade III & Grade IV intra-cranial hemorrhage respectively.

Conclusion: The cranial USG findings in asphyxiated neonates, when done within 3-7 days of life, reveal strong positive correlation with the severity of HIE. Ideally, MRI brain should be performed on all neonates with HIE but due to cost effectiveness and easy availability cranial USG can be used for initial assessment.

Keywords: HIE, Cranial USG, Intra-cranial hemorrhage, Perinatal asphyxia.

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Dr Arindam Ganguly

Deptt. of Paediatrics, Silchar Medical College & Hospital, Assam, India