Abstract
Twenty-seven cases of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in premature infants in the Newborn Unit of Yale-New Haven Hospital were studied. IVH occurred in 30% of admitted infants of ≥32 weeks gestational age (GA). Male to female ratio was 20:7. The GA of the infants was ≥28 weeks in 8 cases, 29-30 weeks in 9, 31-32 weeks in 9, and 34 weeks in 1. Average 1- and 5-minute Apgars (4.3, 5.8) were similar to those of a series of prematures of comparable GA without IVH (4.8, 6.6); however, 30% of infants with IVH had Apgars of <5 at 5 minutes, while only 16% of infants without IVH did. Age at diagnosis ranged from <1 day to 14 days; hemorrhage occurred earlier with decreasing GA. Of 27 infants, 19 had developed respiratory distress syndrome, and 17 required mechanical ventilation. 19 patients died. Of the 8 survivors, 6 have ventriculomegaly, and 4 have had a shunt placed. Neurobehavioral evaluation by a modification of the Brazelton examination was performed on 13 infants after IVH, and scores were compared with scores of well infants of similar GA. It is of interest that, although infants with IVH had somewhat lower scores for tone and reflexes, the most marked differences between the two groups were found in average scores for measures of sophisticated behavior: adaptation to light (2.7 vs. 4.1), orientation to sound (1.9 vs. 3.6), alertness (1.4 vs. 2.7), and irritability (2.4 vs. 4.1).
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Scott, D., Farwell, J. & Warshaw, J. 1152 INTRAVENTRICULAR HEMORRHAGE IN PREMATURES: NEUROBEHAVIORAL FINDINGS AND NATURAL HISTORY. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 556 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-01158
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-01158