A patient care system for early 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging of very low birth weight infants.
BACKGROUND
Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (weight <1500 g) are increasingly cared for without prolonged periods of positive pressure ventilation (PPV).


OBJECTIVE
To develop a system for 3.0 T magnetic resonance (MR) image acquisition from VLBW infants who are not receiving PPV, and to test the clinical stability of a consecutive cohort of such infants.


METHODS
Seventy VLBW infants whose median weight at image acquisition was 940 g (590-1490) underwent brain MR imaging with the developed care system as participants in research. Twenty infants (29%) received nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP), 28 (40%) received supplemental oxygen by nasal cannulae, and 22 (31%) breathed spontaneously in air during the MR examination.


RESULTS
There were no significant adverse events. Seventy-six percent had none or transient self-correcting oxygen desaturations. Desaturations that required interruption of the scan for assessment were less common among infants receiving nCPAP (2/20) or breathing spontaneously in air (2/22), compared with those receiving nasal cannulae oxygen (13/28), p=0.003. Sixty-four (91%) infants had an axillary temperature > or =36 degrees C at completion of the scan (lowest 35.7 degrees C), There was no relationship between weight (p=0.167) or use of nCPAP (p=0.453) and axillary temperature <36 degrees C. No infant became hyperthermic.


CONCLUSIONS
VLBW infants who do not require ventilation by endotracheal tube can be imaged successfully and safely at 3.0 T, including those receiving nCPAP from a customised system.
Merchant
N
N
Imaging Sciences Department, Division of Clinical Sciences, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.
Groves
A
A
Larkman
D J
DJ
Counsell
S J
SJ
Thomson
M A
MA
Doria
V
V
Groppo
M
M
Arichi
T
T
Foreman
S
S
Herlihy
D J
DJ
Hajnal
J V
JV
Srinivasan
L
L
Foran
A
A
Rutherford
M
M
Edwards
A D
AD
Boardman
J P
JP
D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000379:methods; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000379:methods; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D056888:Patient Positioning / Q000379:methods; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods*; D011175:Positive-Pressure Respiration / Q000379:methods; D012449:Safety