title: The obstetric management in very-low-birth weight infants.
abstract: Eighty-three very-low-birth weight (VLBW) infants weighing between 500 g and 1,500 g were studied. The neonatal morbidity and mortality were 86.7% and 18.1%, respectively. Sixty-six point seven percent (8/12) of the infants weighing under 1,000 g suffered from a periventricular-intraventricular or intracranial hemorrhage (PVH/IVH) and their mortality rate was 50%. The incidence of PVH/IVH was 52.1%, and the mortality rate was 12.7% when the birth weight was between 1,000 g and 1,500 g. Forty-nine percent of the PVH/IVH took place on the first day of neonatal life, and 93% developed within 5 days after delivery. Cesarean section neither reduced the incidence of PVH/IVH nor increased the survival rate whether in cephalic or breech presentation. The incidence of PVH/IVH was not affected by type of presentation or the interval between the rupture of membranes and the delivery. Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and the requiring of a ventilator for ventilation significantly increased the incidence of PVH/IVH, while a low Apgar score (less than 3) at 5 minutes did not.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Jou
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: E Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D001034:Apgar Score; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D002585:Cesarean Section; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D005323:Fetal Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007746:Labor Presentation; D011247:Pregnancy; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography