Prevention of Intraventricular Hemorrhages and Periventricular Leukomalacia in the Extremely Low Birth Weight Infant

The purpose of this integrated review is to examine research on the prevention of intraventricular hemorrhage/periventricular leukomalacia in premature infants. Nursing and medical research literature was electronically searched through Pubmed, Medline, and Cinahl from 2000 to 2010. Hand searching by reviewing bibliographies of published studies and review of conference proceedings were also used. Key search words included the terms prevention of intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, and premature infants. Study selection included randomized controlled trials, meta-analysis, and other comparative studies of the prevention of intraventricular hemorrhage/periventricular leukomalacia. Reports exploring the use of near-infrared spectroscopy measurement of cerebral oxygenation to determine risks associated with specific nursing care interventions leading to intraventricular hemorrhage/periventricular leukomalacia were also examined. Data synthesis revealed that prevention of intraventricular hemorrhage/periventricular leukomalacia in the preterm infant is a collaborative effort involving resources during the antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal periods.