Risk Factors Associated with Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Preterm Infants with 28 Weeks Gestational Age

Objective: To identify obstetric and neonatal risk factors associated with the development of germinal matrix-intraventricular hemorrhage (GM-IVH) in high-risk preterm neonates. Methods and Patients: Data from 279 preterm infants (246 mothers) with a gestational age28+0 weeks admitted to our NICU between January 2004 and December 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. Occurrence of (GM-IVH) was diagnosed by using ultrasound and important clinical variables were extracted from the patient charts. Infants were divided into 2 groups: GM-IVH and non-GM-IVH. To account for multiple gestation, generalized estimation equations (GEE) were used for univariate analysis and for the evaluation of independent risk factors. Results: A low 5-min APGAR-Score, multiple birth, low arterial blood pressure at NICU admission, hypercapnia during the first 72h of life in life and absence of any antenatal corticosteroids were found to be significant independent risk factors in the development of GM-IVH. Conclusion: Preterm infants with low arterial blood pressure, absence of antenatal corticosteroids, low 5-min APGAR-Score, higher paCO(2) within the first 3 days of life and multiple gestation were at higher risk to develop GM-IVH. Avoiding these risk factors may help to decrease the rate of GM-IVH.