Perinatology.  2022 Sep;33(3):136-142. 10.14734/PN.2022.33.3.136.

The Success of Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Non-Sedated Infants

• Yu NL
• Lee HM
• Kim HG
• Kim SY

• KMID: 2533889
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14734/PN.2022.33.3.136

Abstract

Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the success rate of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in non-sedated at a single neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Methods
Infants underwent brain MRI following a non-sedation protocol during admission to the NICU at The Catholic University of Korea, Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea, from April 2019 to March 2021. All infants underwent brain MRI using the non-sedation protocol, which is immobilizing well-fed infant with vacuum mattress without any sedative medications. “Successful scanning” was defined as completion of scanning with sufficient image acquisition, whereas “scanning failure” was considered when the infant woke up during the course of scanning, resulting in insufficient image acquisition.
Results
A total 175 scans from 172 infants were included. Of these, 102 (59.3%) were male and 107 (62.2%) were born prematurely. The mean birth weight was 2,610 g (range, 810-4,340). The median gestational age at birth was 36.1 weeks (range, 25.7-41). The median postnatal age, postmenstrual age, and body weight of the infants on the day of the scans were 16 days (range, 5-164), 38.4 weeks (range, 35.6-50.7), and 2,959 g (range, 160-5,720), respectively. A total of 167 (95.4%) scans were successfully completed in the first non-sedative trial, whereas the remaining 8 (4.6%) were completed in the second non-sedative trial.
Conclusion
With our high success rate of non-sedation brain MRI, comparable to the procedure with sedatives, many NICUs must adopt this protocol.

Keyword

Brain; Magnetic resonance imaging; Infant; Immobilization