Perinatal events and intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage in the very low-birth weight infant

One hundred nineteen very low-birth weight infants were studied to see whether intrapartum fetal distress with or without acidosis correlated with the development of intraventricular and subependymal hemorrhage. Of 112 infants studied prospectively, 24% (27/112) had intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage documented by real-time ultrasound studies shortly after birth; only 4.4 (5/112) had severe hemorrhage (grade 3/4). Ominous fetal heart rate patterns occurred in 50% of monitored infants with severe intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage compared to 8% of matched controls (p less than 0.01). Reassuring fetal heart rate patterns were more predominant in infants without intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage (p less than 0.05). Neonatal depression and the need for assisted ventilation beyond the immediate delivery period were more frequent in infants who developed intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage. Antepartum and intrapartum complications, fetal presentation, cesarean section, duration of labor, hyaline membrane disease, and volume expansion appeared to play no role in the incidence of intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage. Preliminary data presented here suggest that intrapartum fetal distress and acidosis may be significant factors in predicting which very low-birth weight infant will develop intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage. The condition of the infant at birth may be more significant with respect to the extent of intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage than a variety of obstetric variables. Aggressive management of appropriately selected patients and judicious resuscitation of the very low-birth weight infant may keep the incidence of severe intraventricular/subependymal hemorrhage at a minimum, thereby optimizing neurological outcome for this high-risk group.