Spastic diplegia in premature infants. Etiologic and diagnostic considerations
F. C. Bennett, L. S. Chandler, N. M. Robinson and C. J. Sells
To investigate the etiology of spastic diplegia (SD) of prematurity, we
compared the prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal course of 18 preterm infants
with SD to that of a control group of preterm infants without SD. No
significant differences between the group with SD and the control group
were found in most of the perinatal and neonatal factors analyzed.
Significant differences were found in birth weight, birth head
circumference, and the one-minute Apgar score. Controlling for gestational
age, infants with SD weighed less at birth, had smaller heads, and were
more often briefly neurologically depressed. Intracranial hemorrhage and
neonatal seizures occurred significantly more often in infants with SD.
Fifteen infants with SD were believed to be neurologically normal at the
time of nursery discharge. These findings suggest the importance of
prenatal factors in optimally treated preterm infants in whom SD develops.
