Bacterial infections of the central nervous system (CNS) in the newborn are common and are of major clinical importance. By far the most frequent of these infections is neonatal bacterial meningitis, and this chapter deals with this disorder in detail.…
The central nervous system (CNS) and its covering membranes may become involved in a variety of infectious processes, with devastating effects on structure and function. Infections may occur during intrauterine development, in association with the birth process, or in the…
CEREBROSPINAL FLUID EXAMINATION Examination of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an important part of the evaluation of a wide variety of neurological disorders, as noted in appropriate chapters throughout this book. In this section, we focus principally on normal CSF…
Introduction Despite marked improvements in antenatal and perinatal care, perinatal brain injury remains one of the most important medical complications in the newborn resulting in significant handicap later in life. Experimental advances have helped to understand many of the cellular…
Hemorrhage into the ventricles of the brain is one of the most serious complications of premature birth despite improvements in the survival of premature infants. Severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) has a high risk of neurologic disability, and approximately 50% of…
Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) following severe perinatal asphyxia (also referred to in the literature as perinatal hypoxia–ischemia or asphyxia neonatorum ) has an incidence of 1-2 per 1,000 live births in the Western world and is far more common in developing…
Germinal Matrix Hemorrhage–Intraventricular Hemorrhage Incidence Germinal matrix hemorrhage–intraventricular hemorrhage (GMH-IVH) mainly occurs in premature infants, and the risk is higher with decreasing maturity. A 2003 study, however, also showed that IVH, sometimes associated with a thalamic hemorrhage, can be seen…