scholarly journals Lack of Progression of Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Premature Infants: Implications for Head Ultrasound Screening

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Rhein ◽  
Jaclyn Daigneault ◽  
Alexandra Dube ◽  
Heather White ◽  
Qiming Shi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Premature infants are known to be at increased risk for intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in the first week of life. IVH may be “mild” (grade I or II) or “severe” (grade III or IV). A classification of mild is less frequently associated with later morbidity. Severe grade IVH may be associated with death or severe neurodevelopmental disability. Mild IVH is generally considered a static, non-progressive disease. Thus, infants that do not present with IVH or who present with mild IVH are unlikely to advance to severe IVH. Consequently, after initial imaging demonstrates a normal result, subsequent head ultrasounds (HUS) may be unnecessary.Methods: This is a retrospective, single-center study. We identified all preterm infants with birth gestational age </= 32 0/7 weeks admitted to the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2016 who received a head ultrasound (HUS) during hospitalization. Each individual ultrasound was classified according to the attending radiologist’s documentation. Grades of IVH were defined per the Papile classification. Initial HUS was defined as HUS performed on day of life 3-10. Every subsequent HUS throughout hospitalization was read and recorded.Results: We identified 682 eligible preterm infants. Of these, 88 were excluded for lack of HUS data, 237 had initial HUS out of inclusion timing window (day of life 3-10), and 4 were excluded for other conditions associated with intraventricular hemorrhage, leaving 353 infants for analysis. Initial findings of severe IVH were relatively rare in this cohort. Of the 343 (97%) infants who had mild IVH (grade II or less) at time of initial screening, only 4 (1.2%) progressed to severe (grade III or IV). Each of these infants required mechanical ventilation for at least 40 days.Conclusions: Based on the results of this analysis, premature infants who have a normal (no IVH) HUS or mild IVH (grade I or II) on initial routine screening HUS without other risk factors may not require follow-up HUS. Infants with prolonged mechanical ventilation may require further screening despite reassuring initial HUS findings.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 2333794X2110107
Author(s):  
Jaclyn Daigneault ◽  
Heather White ◽  
Alexandra Dube ◽  
Qiming Shi ◽  
Jean-Marc Gauguet ◽  
...  

Very preterm infants are at risk for germinal matrix hemorrhage- intraventricular hemorrhage (GH-IVH). Severe GH-IVH may cause death or severe neurodevelopmental disability while mild GH-IVH is considered a static, non-progressive disease. This retrospective study aimed to determine if infants with no GH-IVH or mild GH-IVH on initial screening head ultrasound (HUS) advanced to severe GH-IVH. A total of 353 eligible infants with birth gestational age ≤32 0/7 weeks who received a HUS during hospitalization were identified. Of the 343 (97%) infants who had mild GH-IVH (grade II or less) on initial screening, only 4 (1.2%) progressed to severe (grade III or IV). Each of these infants required mechanical ventilation for at least 40 days. Therefore, premature infants who have no GH-IVH or mild GH-IVH on initial routine screening HUS without other risk factors may not require follow-up HUSs. Infants with prolonged mechanical ventilation may require further screening despite reassuring initial HUS findings.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard J. Graziani ◽  
Alan R. Spitzer ◽  
Donald G. Mitchell ◽  
Daniel A. Merton ◽  
Christian Stanley ◽  
...  

Surviving preterm infants of less than 34 weeks' gestation who were selected on the basis of serial cranial ultrasonographic findings during their nursery course had repeated neurologic and developmental examinations during late infancy and early childhood that established the presence (n = 46) or absence (n = 205) of spastic forms of cerebral palsy. Of the 205 infants without cerebral palsy, 22 scored abnormally low on standardized developmental testing during early childhood. The need for mechanical ventilation beginning on the first day of life (n = 92) was significantly related to gestational age, birth weight, Apgar scores, patent ductus arteriosus, grade III/IV intracranial hemorrhage, large periventricular cysts, and the development of cerebral palsy. In the 192 mechanically ventilated infants, vaginal bleeding during the third trimester, low Apgar scores, and maximally low Pco2 values during the first 3 days of life were significantly related to large periventricular cysts (n = 41) and cerebral palsy (n = 43), but not to developmental delay in the absence of cerebral palsy (n = 18). The severity of intracranial hemorrhage in mechanically ventilated infants was significantly associated with gestational age and maximally low measurements of Pco2 and pH, but not with Apgar scores or maximally low measurements of Po2. Logistic regression analyses controlling for possible confounding variables disclosed that Pco2 values of less than 17 mm Hg during the first 3 days of life in mechanically ventilated infants were associated with a significantly increased risk of moderate to severe periventricular echodensity, large periventricular cysts, grade III/IV intracranial hemorrhage, and cerebral palsy. Neurosonographic abnormalities were highly predictive of cerebral palsy independent of Pco2 measurements. However, neither hypocarbia nor neurosonographic abnormalities were associated with a significantly increased risk of developmental delay in the absence of cerebral palsy. In this preterm infant population, therefore, the risk factors for developmental delay differed from those predictive of spastic forms of cerebral palsy. Of the 57 ventilated preterm infants who were exposed to a maximally low Pco2 of less than 20 mm Hg at least once during the first 3 days of life, 21 developed large periventricular cysts or cerebral palsy or both. Those results suggest that prenatal and neonatal factors including the need for mechanical ventilation beginning on the first day of life and marked hypocarbia during the first 3 postnatal days are associated with an increased risk of damage to the periventricular white matter of some preterm infants. However, a causal relationship between hypocarbia and brain damage in preterm infants remains unproven.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 822-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Perlman ◽  
Rick Risser ◽  
R. Sue Broyles

Background. Bilateral cystic periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a major cause of neurodevelopmental delay in the premature infant. Thus, early identification of the preterm infant at highest risk for the subsequent development of this lesion is critical. Objectives. The three objectives of this case-control study were: (1) to determine the basic characteristics of cystic PVL, (2) to assess the relationship of perinatal clinical events and PVL, and (3) to ascertain the feasibility of identifying early those preterm infants at highest risk for the development of PVL. Methods. The medical records and cranial ultrasound scans (HUSs) were reviewed for 632 infants weighing less than 1750 g who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit between January 1992 and December 1993. PVL developed in 14 infants of 1285 ± 301 g birth weight (BW) and 29.4 ± 1.5 weeks' gestational age (GA); severe intraventricular hemorrhage (n = 21) and intraparenchymal echodensity (n = 12) developed in 33 infants of 904 ± 248 g BW and 26.6 ± 1.8 weeks' GA; and 585 infants of 1315 ± 324 g BW and 29.7 ± 2.4 weeks' GA with normal HUS findings (n = 473) or grade I or II intraventricular hemorrhage (n = 112) served as a comparison group. Results. Cystic PVL was observed in 14 (2.3%) of 632 infants weighing less than 1750 g, more specifically, in 3.2% of infants weighing less than 1500 g. Cysts were noted from the 7th to 14th days of life in 10 infants and from the 20th to 46th days of life in 4 infants. Ten (70%) of the infants had relatively benign clinical courses, and most cases were detected by routine HUS surveillance. Overt hypotension in the immediate perinatal period was noted in 3 (21%) infants; late hypotension developed in 1 additional infant. Univariate analysis indicate that two clinical indicators, prolonged rupture of membranes (PROM) and chorioamnionitis, were significant predictors of PVL. For PROM, the odds ratio estimate and the 95% confidence limit are 6.59 and 1.96 to 22.10, with a sensitivity of 28.6% and positive predictive value of 11.5%. Similar values for chorioamnionitis are 6.77 (1.77 to 25.93), with a sensitivity of 21.4% and positive predictive value of 11.5%. Conclusions. (1) Most cases of symmetric cystic PVL occurred in infants with relatively benign clinical courses and were only detected by routine ultrasound screening. (2) Postnatal systemic hypotension seems to be an uncommon associated event. (3) Preterm infants born to mothers with PROM and/or chorioamnionitis seem to be at an increased risk for the development of PVL and should be carefully evaluated.


HNO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Schuler ◽  
Jens Greve ◽  
Thomas K. Hoffmann ◽  
Janina Hahn ◽  
Felix Boehm ◽  
...  

Abstract Background One of the main symptoms of severe infection with the new coronavirus‑2 (SARS-CoV-2) is hypoxemic respiratory failure because of viral pneumonia with the need for mechanical ventilation. Prolonged mechanical ventilation may require a tracheostomy, but the increased risk for contamination is a matter of considerable debate. Objective Evaluation of safety and effects of surgical tracheostomy on ventilation parameters and outcome in patients with COVID-19. Study design Retrospective observational study between March 27 and May 18, 2020, in a single-center coronavirus disease-designated ICU at a tertiary care German hospital. Patients Patients with COVID-19 were treated with open surgical tracheostomy due to severe hypoxemic respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Measurements Clinical and ventilation data were obtained from medical records in a retrospective manner. Results A total of 18 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV‑2 infection and surgical tracheostomy were analyzed. The age range was 42–87 years. All patients received open tracheostomy between 2–16 days after admission. Ventilation after tracheostomy was less invasive (reduction in PEAK and positive end-expiratory pressure [PEEP]) and lung compliance increased over time after tracheostomy. Also, sedative drugs could be reduced, and patients had a reduced need of norepinephrine to maintain hemodynamic stability. Six of 18 patients died. All surgical staff were equipped with N99-masks and facial shields or with powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR). Conclusion Our data suggest that open surgical tracheostomy can be performed without severe complications in patients with COVID-19. Tracheostomy may reduce invasiveness of mechanical ventilation and the need for sedative drugs and norepinehprine. Recommendations for personal protective equipment (PPE) for surgical staff should be followed when PPE is available to avoid contamination of the personnel.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzipora Dolfin ◽  
Martin B. Skidmore ◽  
Katherine W. Fong ◽  
Elizabeth M. Hoskins ◽  
Andrew T. Shennan

Real-time ultrasound scans were performed on 66 low-birth-weight infants within the first six hours of life (mean, two hours), and then at 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours, and thereafter at weekly intervals. All of the infants were born in a perinatal unit. The incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage and subependymal hemorrhage was 31%. Eight of 20 infants had small hemorrhages (Papile, grades I and II); seven infants sustained grade III hemorrhages, and five infants sustained grade Iv hemorrhages. All hemorrhages occurred in the first 72 hours of life; 25% were diagnosed with the first scan (ie, within the first six hours of life). The infants especially at risk were those less than 29 weeks's gestation. Five infants developed progressive posthemorrhagic ventriculomegaly that subsided spontaneously by age 8 weeks. The mortality in the study group was only 4.5%.


Neonatology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Schultz ◽  
Juliane Tautz ◽  
Irwin Reiss ◽  
Jens Christian Möller

1983 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Scott Conner ◽  
Antonio V. Lorenzo ◽  
Keasley Welch ◽  
Brent Dorval

✓ Most preterm infants develop transient intracranial hypotension, which reaches its lowest level on the 2nd day of life. This corresponds to the time when most neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) occurs. In order to test the hypothesis that intracranial hypotension may have an etiological role in the development of IVH in premature infants, the authors induced intracranial hypotension in the preterm rabbit by the intraperitoneal injection of glycerol. The rabbit model is well suited for this study because this animal is at risk of developing spontaneous germinal matrix and ventricular hemorrhage. Compared to control littermates, the glycerol-treated animals exhibited a greater than 3.5-fold incidence of germinal matrix and intraventricular hemorrhage.


Praxis medica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 19-23
Author(s):  
Jelena Todorović ◽  
Mirjana Petrović-Lazić

Introduction. Children born prematurely have an increased risk of immediate medical complications, as well as socioemotional, cognitive, linguistic and sensory processing disorders later in life. Studies have examined the effects of prematurity on developmental outcomes, such as cognition, however, there is a need for a more detailed examination of sensory processing disorders in preterm infants. Not only is prenatal neurosensory development interrupted in utero, but these children may also experience intense stimulation in the neonatal unit, which can further alter the development and function of the sensory system. Objective. The paper presents an overview of research on sensory processing disorders in premature infants, with special emphasis on the impact of the environment of the neonatal unit. Method. Insight into the relevant literature was performed by specialized search engines on the Internet and insight into the electronic database. Results. Sensory processing disorders affect 39% to 52% of newborns born prematurely, with some evidence to suggest that children born before 32 weeks are most at risk. The literature to date has consistently reported difficulties in sensory modulation of preterm infants, within the tactile, vestibular, auditory, oral, and visual domains. Conclusion. Sensory processing disorders in preterm infants appear to occur as a result of their immature neurological and biological system and being in the environment of a neonatal intensive care unit, which is unable to meet the sensory needs of preterm infants. Altered sensory experiences, during periods of neurodevelopmental vulnerability and fragility, can result in sensory processing disorders, which may include enhanced responses or less response to stimuli (hyper or hyposensitivity).


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