Risk factors for periventricular–intraventricular haemorrhage severity in preterm infants: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

Abstract Objectives: We investigated the risk factors besides gestational age (GA) for periventricular-intraventricular haemorrhage (PV-IVH) severity in preterm infants. Study Design: PV-IVH participants were divided into mild and severe groups and were propensity-score matched by GA. Variables were collected from infant-mother pairs.Result: A total of 3,783 preterm infants with PV-IVH were included. We matched 315 infants with severe PV-IVH with 315 with mild PV-IVH. The results suggested that sepsis (odds ratio [OR] 2.50, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50–4.16), thrombocytopenia (OR 2.37, 95% CI: 1.39–4.04), multiple gestations (OR 1.69, 95% CI: 1.15–2.49), invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 1.59, 95% CI: 1.10–2.31), and magnesium sulphate use (OR 1.46, 95% CI: 1.01–2.10) were associated with severe PV-IVH. Female sex (OR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46–0.91) was a protective factor. Conclusion: Sepsis, thrombocytopenia, multiple gestations, invasive mechanical ventilation, magnesium sulphate use, and male sex contribute to severe PV-IVH in preterm infants regardless of GA.