The Frequency of Intraventricular Hemorrhage and its Risk Factors.

Background: Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) (is the most prevalent type of cerebrovascular accident in premature infants, which can result in lasting neurological complications. The aim of this study was to ascertain the frequency of IVH and its associated risk factors within our particular context.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit of a maternal and neonatal hospital from September 2018 to August 2019. Premature infants under 34 weeks of age and with birth weight < 1500 grams who did not have significant congenital anomalies participated in the study. A brain ultrasound was performed by a sonologist during the first week. The infants were subsequently categorized into two groups: those with and without IVH. A comparative analysis was conducted using the chi-square test and logistic regression. A significance level of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of the 205 premature infants who completed the study, IVH was reported in 107 cases (52.1%), of which 97.3% of ventricular hemorrhages were grade I and II and 2.7% accounted for severe bleeding (grade III and IV). Gestational age less than 28 weeks, weight less than 1000 g, vaginal delivery, asphyxia and resuscitation, history of intubation and mechanical ventilation, cord blood acidity, dopamine infusion, and history of fever and chorioamnionitis in the mother have been found to be significantly associated with increased risk of IVH (p<0.001). Antenatal corticosteroids decreased the risk (OR=10.63).

Conclusion: In this study, IVH has been found to be common in infants under 1500 g of weight, but the severe form was low in frequency and was observed significantly in high-risk pregnancies.