The Mechanism of the Neonatal Intraventricular Hemorrhage and its Treatment

In the newborn infants, the intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) which occure almost exclusively in premature infants accounts for 20-40% of intracranial hemorrhage and is responible for 3-15% of their motality. The diagnosis of IVH is difficult to be established by ventricular tap, ventricular puncture and ventriculography alone. In the last 6 years, we have experienced 7 cases of the IVH, all of which were in mature infants in contrast to general concept. Two cases were successfully treated with ventricular irrigation. It is our purpose to revew in some detail the outstanding contributions from the literatures pertaining to IVH in newborn infant. An attempt will be made to clarify certain features of intracranial anatomy, giving special emphasis tothose strustures most frequently associated with injury in the birth process and to the specific vascular components largely responsible for intracranial hemorrhage. Germinal matrix tissue, persisting as subependymal deposits in the cerebrum in the fetus and premature infant, has been cited as a factor in the pathogenesis of neonatal IVH