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Elevated supine midline head position for prevention of intraventricular hemorrhage in VLBW and ELBW infants: a retrospective multicenter study

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the impact of elevated supine midline head position on intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants.

Study design

We reviewed data from four Level III/IV units. Two of these units (mid-line group) cared for infants in midline position and the other two (routine care group) provided routine care. We compared incidence of any and severe IVH in two groups using multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results

Of 2201 VLBW infants, 1041 were extremely-low-birth-weight (ELBW). Odds of any IVH were not different either for VLBW or ELBW infants. Odds of severe IVH were higher for VLBW infants in mid-line group (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.007–2.02; p value 0.046) but not for ELBW infants (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.6–1.4; p value 0.73).

Conclusions

The incidence of any IVH was similar in the two groups but the incidence of severe IVH was higher in VLBW infants in mid-line group.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

PK conceptualized and designed the study, coordinated center recruitment and data collection, participated in data analyses, drafted the initial manuscript, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. KFC, PP, AR, and WW helped with data collection and interpretation, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. HW carried out the statistical analyses, and reviewed and revised the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Praveen Kumar.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Kumar, P., Carroll, K.F., Prazad, P. et al. Elevated supine midline head position for prevention of intraventricular hemorrhage in VLBW and ELBW infants: a retrospective multicenter study. J Perinatol 41, 278–285 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00809-6

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