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

Incidence and prediction of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage in very preterm infants

“…This is contrary to some [9,15] but in agreement with other [4,5,7,19,20,22] studies, all of which were based on much smaller infant populations. Even after correcting for all preceding factors, including gestational age, there was no evidence for a protective effect of cesarean section in our study population.…”

“…Fetal distress has been variably associated with PIVH in the neonate. Some found a higher incidence of ominous fetal heart rate patterns in the history of infants with PIVH [20], whereas others failed to demonstrate such relationship [22]. In our study, abnormalities of the fetal heart rate either before or during labor bore no significant relationship to neonatal PIVH.…”

Incidence of peri-intraventricular hemorrhage in premature neonates weighing more than 1500g

“…In the entire screened population only those neonates who had severe hemorrhages (grade III and IV) were clinically identifiable as having either suffered from severe birth asphyxia or required ventilation or both [11]. Autopsy studies of our patients who died with PIVH demonstrated that choroid plexus hemorrhage is the most common source of bleeding [10], probably the most common etiology being perinatal hypoxic-ischemic injury [12].…”

“…All examinations were recorded and hard copy was obtained with Polaroid photographs during the course of the examination. Perinatal data included the major risk factors associated with the development of PIVH [11]: medications administered to the mother, duration of labor, intrauterine fetal distress, birth trauma, low Apgar Score, need of resuscitation or immediate ventilatory support. Data collected in the nursery included blood pressure determinations, blood gas monitoring, note of fluid infusions and transfusions including composition, volume and flow rate.…”

Severe intra- and periventricular hemorrhage: role of arteriolosclerosis related to maternal smoke

“…In addition to the direct hemodynamic effects, toxic effects of the gaseous components released during the combustion of nicotine have been shown to damage the arterial wall [15,27]. Therefore, cigarette smoking is an important causal factor of prenatal pathology, also in unexpected and unexplained fetal death [14][15][16][17][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Hence, the strong atherogenic effect of cigarette smoking on human arteries already begins in fetal life, probably in genetically predisposed individuals.…”