J Korean Pediatr Soc.  1994 Oct;37(10):1350-1356.

The Study on the Clinical Significance of the Finger Extension Reflex in Early Infancy

• Moon SY
• Seol IJ

Abstract

The finger extension reflex was performed to the 419 normal infants without CNS abnormalities that visited to the well baby clinic and out-patient department, and so to the patients with CNS abnormalities on the brain sonography and brain CT under the age of 2 months from May 1992 to September 1993 in the department of pediatrics, Hanyang university hospital. The results were summerized as follows 1) The positive rates of the finger extension reflex according to age in month on the normal infants from birth to 8 months of age were 100%, 100%, 100%, 72.3%, 57.1%, 28.6%, 17.5%, 6.3% and 0% respectively, and the reflex was almost lost after the age of 5 months. 2) Of 21 patients with brain pathology on the brain sonography and/or brain CT, the finger extension reflexes were absent on two patients with grade 3~4 intraventricular hemorrhage, one with hypoxic brain damage and one with severe brain parenchymal hemorrhage, partially responded on two patients with brain edema and one with moderate-sized brain parenchymal hemorrhage, and completely responded on 11 patients with mild intracranial hemorrhage, two with hydrocephalus and one with aneurysm of Galen vein. 3) Because there were no cases with localized brain pathology, we couldn't find the differences of the finger extension reflexes associated with the location of brain pathology. In conclusion, we found that the finger extension reflex may be lost from 3 months through 6 months of age. With further study of normal premature babies and more infants with brain pathology, we may use the finger extension reflex as one of the primitive reflexes and predict severe CNS abnormalities.

MeSH Terms

Aneurysm
Brain
Brain Diseases
Brain Edema
Cerebral Veins
Fingers*
Hemorrhage
Humans
Hydrocephalus
Hypoxia, Brain
Infant
Intracranial Hemorrhages
Outpatients
Parturition
Pediatrics
Reflex*