Risk factors for the deterioration of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants.

Preterm infants with periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (PV-IVH) have a high risk of neurological sequelae, with severity depending on the severity of the PV-IVH. Previous studies on the pathogenesis of PV-IVH have focused mainly on comparisons of perinatal risk factors between patients with and without PV-IVH. Notably, most cases of PV-IVH occur within the first 3 days after birth, and the condition may worsen within 1 week following the initial diagnosis. However, the risk factors that contribute to the deterioration of PV-IVH have not been investigated. In this cohort study, 514 PV-IVH infants with a gestational age (GA) < 32 weeks were enrolled. The dependent variable was initially diagnosed as mild PV-IVH (grade I or II) that subsequently progressed to severe PV-IVH (grade III or IV) within 1 week. A stepwise forward multivariate logistic regression model was adopted to select potential or related factors that affected the deterioration of PV-IVH in preterm infants. Overall, 42 of the 514 infants with PV-IVH (8.2%) showed deterioration within 1 week. The results showed that maternal lower genital tract infection (OR 3.73, 95% CI 1.75-7.95) was an independent risk factor for PV-IVH deterioration. Higher GA (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.48-0.80) was a protective factor. Our results suggest that maternal lower genital tract infection and a lower GA may contribute to PV-IVH deterioration in preterm infants.