[Incidence of peri-intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm newborn infants with birth weight less than 1500 gms: evaluation of brain ultrasonographic studies and necropsy]

General evaluation of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage in premature infants in mainland China

OBJECTIVE

To explore the incidence and analyze the high risk factors of PIVH in premature infants in mainland China.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 1122 premature infants at <37 weeks gestation were enrolled in this study. All the infants received intracranial ultrasound examinations within 1 week after birth, and the perinatal data were recorded to analyze the high risk factors for PIVH.

RESULTS

The results showed that the incidence rate of PIVH was 55.2% in mainland Chinese population. Among these cases, mild degrees of PIVH accounted for 82.2% and severe degrees of PIVH accounted for only 17.8%. The most important risk factors related to PIVH were low gestational age, low birth weight, low Apgar score and ventilatory treatment, etc.

CONCLUSIONS

It suggested that there were many high risk factors related to PIVH in premature infants and a screening cutoff point of 2000 g appeared to be more adequate for China.

[Brain hypoxic-injury of hemorrhagic pattern in newborns: analysis of 1028 autopsies from 1960 to 1995]

Hypoxic-ischaemic injury of the central nervous system (CNS) in newborns is a very prevalent entity affecting 1 to 6 children per 1000 births. This injury may induce severe neurological sequelae. We present the analysis of 1028 consecutive cases of hypoxic-ischaemic CNS injuries of haemorrhagic pattern detected in autopsies performed at the Division of Anatomic Pathology, Hospital de Clínicas, University of Paraná, Brazil, from 1960 to 1995. The prevalence of these lesions was high (49.73%) amongst all autopsied newborns. The main types of haemorrhage were microscopical intra-parenchymal haemorrhages, intraventricular and periventricular haemorrhages and subarachnoid foci of bleeding. Our results emphasize that premature children constitute a high risk group for CNS haemorrhage needing special preventive therapeutic procedures to avoid neurological complications.