Aim and objective: To determine the prevalence of abnormal brain MRI in children aged 2 mon to 12 yrs with Global developmental delay.

Methods: This is a prospective observational study where a total of 42 children aged 6 month to 12 years with developmental delay who underwent MRI imaging of brain during the study period were included. All patients were evaluated clinically and underwent an MRI of the brain performed using a 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner. MRI scan was done and findings are recorded. Datas were collected and analyzed statistically.

Results: Out of 42 children with developmental delay, 52.4% (n=22) were female and 47.6% (n=20) were male children. About 61.9% (n=26) of children with developmental delay had abnormal findings in MRI. All the children with developmental delay have shown abnormal findings in EEG. Among 26 children with abnormal MRI findings, 6 children (23.1%) had hypoxic ischemic changes, 6 children (23.1%) had white matter disorders, 6 children (23.1%) had atropic changes, infection associated changes (n=2), congenital malformations (n=3), two children (7.7%) had CSF disorders  and one child (3.8%) had chronic MCA infarct.

Conclusion:  Though the specific cause of developmental delay often remains unknown, MRI provides useful diagnostic information in a relatively high percentage of children resistant to diagnosis by non imaging methods.

Key words:  Developmental delay, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).