[Mode of delivery and neurosonographic findings in premature infants].
BACKGROUND
Fetal and preterm infant brain is especially vulnerable to hemorrhagic and ischemic damage at the end of the second and at the beginning of the third trimester. This is due to vascular, cellular and anatomic characteristics of the brain during development. In premature babies, there is a physiological instability and limited autoregulation of cerebral circulation. Hemorrhagic and ischemic damages often occur together, though pathophysiological processes leading to lesions are different.


METHODS
The paper deals with a detailed analysis of 860 ultrasound brain scans of prematurely born children. The examinations were performed at the Ultrasound Department of the Institute of Child and Youth Health Care in Novi Sad. 707 vaginally born premature infants and 153 premature infants born by Cesarean section were examined The bleeding was graded according to the Papile classification.


CONCLUSIONS
Out of 384 children with diagnosed grade I hemorrhage, 75 premature infants (19.5%) were born by Cesarean section. In the group of children with grade II hemorrhage, operative deliveries account for 14.7%. From the total of 85 children with grade III hemorrhage, (intraventricular bleeding with chamber dilatation), only 6 premature infints were born by Cesarean section (7%). Intra-parenchymal bleeding was diagnosed in a very small number of premature infants: 0.32% of all diagnosed hemorrhages were grade IV hemorrhages. In this group there were no children born by Cesarean section. The increase of hemorrhage grade is accompanied by a greater rate of pelvic presentation and manual assistance by Bracht. There were 240 prematurely born children with no echosonographicallY diagnosed hemorrhage, 38% of all examined premature infants. From this number, 13.3% of neonates were born by Cesarean section.


CONCLUSIONS
In the etiology of neonatal intracranial hemorrhage, especially prematurely born ones, apart from the trauma, which plays a major role, other factors are also important, above all fetal distress, perinatal hypoxia and junctional immaturity of all organs.
Velisavljev-Filipović
Gordana
G
Institut za zrdavstvenu zastitu dece i omladine, 21000 Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 10. velisgor@eunet.yu
D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002585:Cesarean Section; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004453:Echoencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011247:Pregnancy