Risk of Severe Intraventricular Hemorrhage in the First Week of Life in Preterm Infants Transported Before 72 Hours of Age*

Objectives: Evaluate the risk of severe intraventricular hemorrhage, in the first week of life, in preterm infants undergoing early interhospital transport. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary neonatal centers of the Trent Perinatal Network in the United Kingdom. Patients: Preterm infants less than 32 weeks gestation, who were either born within and remained at the tertiary neonatal center (inborn), or were transferred (transported) between centers in the first 72 hours of life. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for key confounders were used to calculate odds ratios for intraventricular hemorrhage with 95% CIs for comparison of inborn and transported infants. Cranial ultrasound findings on day 7 of life. Secondary analyses were performed for antenatal steroid course and gestational age subgroups. A total of 1,047 preterm infants were included in the main analysis. Transported infants (n = 391) had a significantly higher risk of severe (grade III/IV) intraventricular hemorrhage compared with inborns (n = 656) (9.7% vs 5.8%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.04-2.76), especially for infants born at less than 28 weeks gestation (adjusted odds ratio, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.03-3.21). Transported infants were less likely to receive a full antenatal steroid course (47.8% vs 64.3%; p < 0.001). A full antenatal steroid course significantly decreased the risk of severe intraventricular hemorrhage irrespective of transport status (odds ratio, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.2-0.55). However, transported infants less than 28 weeks gestation remained significantly more likely to develop a severe intraventricular hemorrhage despite a full antenatal steroid course (adjusted odds ratio, 2.84; 95% CI, 1.08-7.47). Conclusions: Preterm infants transported in the first 72 hours of life have an increased risk of early-life severe intraventricular hemorrhage even when maternal antenatal steroids are given. The additional burden of postnatal transport could be an important component in the pathway to severe intraventricular hemorrhage. As timely in-utero transfer is not always possible, we need to focus research on improving the transport pathway to reduce this additional risk.