Abstract
The relationship between hypoxemia and ICH was studied in 25 infants weighing <1500 grams. Twenty-three infants required assisted ventilation. TcpO2 data was monitored continuously for 3 days and stored using the Oxygram, a microprocessor based tcpO2 data system. The number of events with a tcpO2 <40 torr and the total time with tcpO2 <40 torr were determined. Cranial ultrasounds were done after birth and daily for 3 days. ICH was graded on the scale 0 to 4.
Infants had a mean of 15.75 events with a tcpO2 <40 torr each day. These events had a mean cumulative daily duration of 48.4 mins. The number of hypoxemic events and the cumulative duration of these events over the 3 days were not different in the 14 infants with ICH and the 11 without ICH.
Progression in ICH grade was noted in 12 infants. For the total study group there was a significant association between the cumulative time spent with a tcpO2 <40 torr and the degree of progression in severity of ICH (r=0.54, p=0.01). ICH progression was not associated with either the number of events with low tcpO2, pneumothorax, or hypotension.
We conclude that infants weighing <1500 grains experience multiple episodes of low tcpO2, and that the cumulative duration of these episodes correlates with increases in ICH severity.
Aided by Clinical Research Grant #6-333 from the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.
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Horbar, J., Joll, R., McAuliffe, T. et al. 1415 AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CUMULATIVE HYPOXEMIA AND PROGRESSION OF INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE (ICH) IN INFANTS <1500 GRAMS. Pediatr Res 19, 346 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-01439
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-01439