Epidemiology of Posthemorrhagic Ventricular Dilatation in Canadian Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND: Severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a common cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality .The incidence and management of post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation (PHVD) vary among different centres. OBJECTIVES: To assess the incidence, temporal trend, management and associated outcomes of PHVD in Canadian NICUs. DESIGN/METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of all pre-term infants (22+0 -32+6 weeks) who were admitted to NICUs participating in the Canadian Neonatal Network between 2010 and 2014. Infants with severe IVH (IVH with ventricular dilatation or parenchymal bleeding) who survived ≥ 72 hours were included. We compared the rates of severe IVH, PHVD and VP shunting between the 5 Canadian regions. Short-term outcomes of infants who developed PHVD (ventricles size ≥10 mm) were compared with those who did not. RESULTS: Of 16600 eligible infants, 1964 (11.8%) developed severe IVH. Of 1815 infants with severe IVH who survived ≥72 hours, 616 (34%) developed PHVD and 91 (5%) treated with VP shunt. No significant difference in the incidence of severe IVH, PHVD or VP shunting over the last five years was noted. There was a statistically significant difference in the rates of severe IVH (p<0.0001) and PHVD (p=0.02) among the 5 Canadian regions. VP shunts rates were variable with some Canadian regions with higher rates of PHVD had low rates of VP shunts. [figure 1]. Infants with PHVD had significantly higher mortality and short term morbidities. [table 1]. On regression analysis, PHVD is an independent predictor of death in infants with severe IVH [adjusted OR 1.55, 95% CI (1.18, 2.04)]. Infants with VP shunt had significantly higher rates of severe ROP (p<0.0001), meningitis (p<0.0001), and hospitalization (89 vs 41 days, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: PHVD is an independent predictor of death and is associated with adverse short- term outcomes. Variability exists between different regions in managing PHVD. Further studies are needed to investigate the impact of this variability on long-term outcomes.