Short-Term Outcome of Preterm Infants with Intraventricular Hemorrhage

Background: Intra-ventricular hemorrhage (IVH) remains a severe complication of very preterm infants born before 32 weeks of gestation. IVH is strongly associated with post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus and subsequent neurodevelopmental disabilities. Objectives: This study evaluated the short-term outcome of IVH in preterm infants concerning its occurrence time. Methods: This study enrolled preterm newborn infants with IVH visiting a teaching referral university hospital in the North West of Iran from September 2019 to October 2020. We followed 40 neonates with IVH and evaluated their neurodevelopment at 6 and 12 months. We defined delayed IVH as IVH detected the first time after the second week of life. The neurodevelopmental outcome was compared with respect to the time of IVH occurrence. Results: Forty cases of IVH were enrolled in this study, of whom 4 cases were excluded because of death before hospital discharge. The studied patients' mean gestation age and birth weight were 29.3 ± 2.3 weeks and 1361 ± 564 g, respectively. Intra-ventricular hemorrhage occurred in the first week of life in 31 neonates (86.1%) and delayed in 5 neonates (13.9%). The neurodevelopmental delay was detected at 6 months after birth in 14 infants (45.1%) with IVH in the first week of life and 2 (40%) cases with delayed IVH (P = 0.37). Neurodevelopmental delay was diagnosed at 12 months after birth in 8 infants (25.8%) with IVH in the first week of life and 1 infant (20%) with delayed IVH (P = 0.17). Conclusions: Intra-ventricular hemorrhage is an essential cause of neurodevelopmental delay in preterm infants, and there is no significant difference in IVH outcomes with respect to the time of IVH occurrence.