Intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) and associated clinical characteristics in outborn preterm infants <32 weeks undergoing neonatal transport in Western Australia: a retrospective cohort study (2011-2021).

Authors

Saumil Desai, Maria Joseph, Kevin George, Kai Ning Tan, Zac Dempsey, Matthew Cooper, Scott White, Mary Sharp, Jonathan Davis

Published in

BMJ open. Volume 16. Issue 9. Pages e120592. Sep 01, 2026. Epub Sep 01, 2026.

Abstract

To evaluate maternal, infant and transport factors associated with intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) in outborn preterm infants <32 weeks' gestation in Western Australia.
Retrospective cohort study.
Newborn emergency transport service of Western Australia (NETS WA).
Preterm infants <32 weeks' gestation born outside the tertiary perinatal centre and transported by NETS WA between 2011 and 2021. Exclusions were congenital anomalies, transfer after day 1 of life or death before day 1 cranial ultrasound.
Outcome was any IVH detected on cranial ultrasound on day 1 and day 7 of life. Perinatal data were analysed comparing infants with and without IVH using bivariate tests and logistic regression to examine differences between these groups.
IVH occurred in 57/286 (19.9%) on day 1 and 53/275 (19.9%) on day 7; severe IVH occurred in 25/286 (8.7%) and 27/275 (9.9%), respectively. Infants with IVH had lower gestational age and birth weight, greater exposure to intra-amniotic inflammation and less antenatal steroid exposure. In multivariable analyses, intra-amniotic inflammation was associated with increased odds of IVH on day 1 (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.10 to 5.44). Epinephrine use during resuscitation was associated with higher odds of IVH on day 1 (OR 4.88, 95% CI 1.49 to 17.5). Inotrope use during transport was associated with IVH on day 1 (OR 7.85, 95% CI 1.35 to 54.6) and day 7 (OR 9.11, 95% CI 1.32 to 72.9). Continuous positive airway pressure during transport was associated with lower odds of IVH on day 1 (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.88). Transport mode, duration and timing intervals were not associated with IVH.
In outborn preterm infants <32 weeks' gestation, IVH risk was more strongly associated with perinatal factors than transport characteristics. Collaboration across perinatal networks should aim to support optimal management during preterm labour birth.

PMID:
42680492
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.