Risk factor analysis of intraventricular hemorrhage in low-birth-weight infants.

Sixty of 63 newborn infants weighing less than 1,250 gm, admitted consecutively to the Intensive Care Nursery during a 15-month period, were prospectively investigated for the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage by early computerized tomography or by autopsy. Nineteen of the 60 infants had evidence of IVH. The incidence of IVH was correlated with the presence of possible neonatal, obstetrical, asphyxial, or therapeutic risk factors. There was a significant difference in only one of the risk factors: birth outside the perinatal center. Fifteen of 27 outborn infants (56%) developed IVH, whereas only four of 33 inborn infants (12%) developed IVH (P less than 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in maternal obstetrical risk factors, infant risk factors, or indices of birth asphyxia in the inborn compared with the outborn infants. However, perinatal therapeutic risk factors differed between the two groups. Outborn infants were less likely to have received betamethasone (P less than 0.001), were less likely to have their arterial blood gases monitored and stabilized during the first 20 minutes after birth (P less than 0.001), and were given more bicarbonate (P less than 0.001) and more boluses of fluid intravenously (P less than 0.02). The risk of IVH in very low birth-weight infants may be significantly decreased by therapeutic factors at birth. Maternal transport to a perinatal center and intensive neonatal resuscitation may contribute to decreasing the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage.