Placental abruption and risk for intraventricular hemorrhage in very low birth weight infants: the United States national inpatient database

To examine the association of placental abruption with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.

We examined the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) datasets. Preterm infants <1500 g birth weight (BW) were included. The odds ratios (OR) of developing IVH and severe IVH in association with placental abruption were calculated. Adjusted OR (aOR) were calculated using logistic regression models.

The study included 113,445 VLBW infants. IVH occurred in 18.7% in the infants who were born to mothers with history of placental abruption versus 14.7% in infants without placental abruption, aOR 1.25 (95%CI: 1.13–1.38), p < 0.001. Severe IVH occurred in 6.4% in infants born to mothers with history of placental abruption versus 4.0% in those without placental abruption, aOR 1.53 (95%CI: 1.30–1.78), p < 0.001.

Placental abruption is associated with increased prevalence of IVH and severe IVH in VLBW infants.