Intraventricular Haemorrhage (IVH)

The more common symptoms associated with IVH are:

Preterm infants have very fragile blood vessels in their brains.  Despite having the best of care, sometimes IVH still happens.  Some interventions to reduce the occurrence of IVH are:

A Cranial (head) ultrasound coupled with good medical history and a physical examination is usually used to diagnose IVH. Through spaces between the bones of the baby’s head (fontanelle), the amount of bleeding can as graded as follows:

Grade 1. Bleeding occurs just in a small area of the ventricles.

Grade 2. Bleeding also occurs inside the ventricles.

Grade 3. Ventricles are enlarged by the blood.

Grade 4. Bleeding into the brain tissues around the ventricles.

There is no specific treatment for IVH.  Therapy is aimed at correcting the other medical conditions associated with IVH (i.e. correction of bleeding, treatment of infections, etc.).  In general, IVH grades 1 and 2 are still most common and usually self-limiting.  They are not associated with any long-term complications and more often does not require further intervention.  Grades 3 and 4 are more serious and may have long-term sequelae if left untreated.  There are some cases when moderate-severe IVH may require placement of a reservoir or shunt if spinal fluid distends the ventricles and leads to expansion of the head size (hydrocephalus). This is secondary to blockage of spinal fluid within the brain and expansion of the head as a result.

Babies with IVH are high risk for developing long term neurological problems and delayed development.