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• Clinical Articles •
Cerebral blood flow perfusion characteristics in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia based on 3D-ASL and its correlation with duration of mechanical ventilation
WANG Ning  LI Xinqi  CHENG Zhiwei  FU Yiwei  DING Tan  LIU Xueyan  LI Tianyu  WANG Kefan  LU Lin 

Cite this article as WANG N, LI X Q, CHENG Z W, et al. Cerebral blood flow perfusion characteristics in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia based on 3D-ASL and its correlation with duration of mechanical ventilation[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(8): 64-70, 97. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.006.


[Abstract] Objective Using three-dimensional arterial spin labeling (3D-ASL) technology to investigate cerebral blood flow perfusion characteristics and their correlation with mechanical ventilation duration in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).Materials and Methods A total of 122 preterm infants who were hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2024 to September 2024 and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination in the Department of Radiology were prospectively and consecutively enrolled as study subjects. According to the diagnostic criteria for BPD, the patients were divided into a BPD group (n = 61) and a control group (n = 61). All subjects underwent conventional cranial MRI sequences and ASL sequence scanning at a corrected gestational age of 35 to 39 weeks. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) values were quantitatively measured in regions of interest, including the bilateral frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital cortices and white matter, basal ganglia, and thalamus. Clinical data and CBF values were compared between the two groups. The effect of sex on CBF in the BPD group was analyzed, and partial correlation and subgroup-stratified analyses were performed within the BPD group to explore the correlation between CBF in the brain regions showing significant intergroup differences and the duration of mechanical ventilation.Results The duration of mechanical ventilation, invasive ventilation, and non-invasive ventilation in the BPD group was longer than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the CBF values in the bilateral frontal cortex, bilateral parietal cortex, bilateral temporal cortex, bilateral occipital cortex, right frontal white matter, left parietal white matter, bilateral temporal white matter, right occipital white matter, bilateral basal ganglia and bilateral thalamus of the BPD group increased (P < 0.05). Gender had no significant effect on CBF levels in various brain regions of preterm infants with BPD (P > 0.05). In the overall BPD group (corrected gestational age 35~38 weeks), there was no significant correlation between CBF in the brain regions showing significant intergroup differences and the duration of mechanical ventilation (P > 0.05); stratified analysis showed that in the subgroup with a corrected gestational age of 37 to 38 weeks, CBF in the left parietal white matter (r = 0.421, P = 0.040) and right occipital white matter (r = 0.476, P = 0.019) was significantly positively correlated with the duration of mechanical ventilation.Conclusions 3D-ASL can reveal CBF perfusion abnormalities in preterm infants with BPD. In preterm infants with BPD at corrected gestational age of 37 to 38 weeks, there is a positive correlation between left parietal white matter and right occipital white matter CBF and mechanical ventilation duration. Clinical attention should be paid to the blood flow changes in the aforementioned brain regions of children undergoing long-term mechanical ventilation, optimizing respiratory support strategies, and strengthening neurodevelopmental follow-up.
[Keywords] bronchopulmonary dysplasia；preterm infants；magnetic resonance imaging；arterial spin labeling；cerebral blood flow；mechanical ventilation

WANG Ning1   LI Xinqi1   CHENG Zhiwei2   FU Yiwei1   DING Tan1   LIU Xueyan1   LI Tianyu1   WANG Kefan1   LU Lin1*  

1 Department of Medical Imaging, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China

2 Department of Medical Records Management, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China

Corresponding author: LU L, E-mail: lulin3186@126.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-03-31
Accepted  2026-07-14
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.006
Cite this article as WANG N, LI X Q, CHENG Z W, et al. Cerebral blood flow perfusion characteristics in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia based on 3D-ASL and its correlation with duration of mechanical ventilation[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(8): 64-70, 97. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.006.

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