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

With the advent of modern methods of neonatal care, intracranial hemorrhage probably has become the most common neurological complication in premature infants weighing less than 1500 g at birth. This paper is a prospective study of 75 preterm infants of 34 weeks gestation or more and birth weight above 1500 g (range 1500 g to 2500 g). All neonates were screened by cranial ultra-sonography for evidence of peri-intraventricular hemorrhage (PIVH). Perinatal risk factors, incidence of PIVH and neurological outcome were studied. Sonographic abnormalities were detected in 16 (21.3%) of our patients. Intracranial hemorrhage was frequently associated with a low Apgar score, need of resuscitation and/or assisted ventilation immediately after birth (P less than 0.005). This study suggests, that ultrasound screening should be reserved to those large premature infants (greater than 1500 g) with high risk of hypoxic-ischemic injury.