AbstractIntroduction: Cranial Doppler sonography is emerging technique. The procedure is noninvasive, nonionizing, portable, and safe performed with relatively inexpensive equipment. Doppler transducer used to measure the velocity of blood flow within the circle of Willis. Cranial Doppler calculates and displays the peak systolic and diastolic velocity and the resistive index of blood flow within the vessel.
Aims and Objectives: To assess utility of cranial color Doppler to evaluate cerebral blood flow velocities in ACA, MCA, and PCA in preterm and term neonates and to evaluate developmental interval changes.
Material and Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in Khwaja Banda Nawaz teaching and general Hospital, Kalaburagi. A total of 52 neonates were evaluated during the study period from January 2019 to October 2019. The USG machine GE Logiq F8 series with high resolution transducer of 7-10 MHz was used during the present study. Transtemporal approach for color Doppler study. Inclusion criteria, all babies born within gestational age varied between 28 to 42 weeks and Exclusion criteria neonates with congenital heart disease and any other heart disease.
Results: Intracranial velocities were seen to increase with increasing gestational age and with increasing age of the neonate; the resistive index decreased progressively with age. Correlation between the gestational age, and cranial Doppler evaluation was done p values were statistically significant at p<0.001 noted.
Summary and Conclusion: Color Doppler sonography powerful tool to evaluate the neonatal brain in a non-invasive manner. The relatively low velocity differential between systole and diastole in premature neonates indicates a relatively dilated intravascular bed and suggests these neonates may be less able than term neonates to withstand transient vascular disturbances, which may provide a basis for intracranial hemorrhage and ischemia.
