INTRAVENTRICULAR HEMORRHAGE AND CEREBRAL- ISCHEMIA IN FULL-TERM NEONATES

Although intraventricular hemorrhage associated with cerebral ischemia without severe perinatal asphyxia is rare in full-term newborns, it c an be severe, have early or late onset depending on the etiology and b e of poor prognosis. Five full-term neonates (37 to 41 weeks of gestat ional age) without criteria of severe perinatal asphyxia were admitted to the intensive care unit for seizures: four were between seven and II days of age and one was only 12 h old. Clinical or electroclinical seizures recorded by continuous EEG monitoring were numerous, leading to status epilepticus in three babies; They were unilateral (at the le vel of the left hemisphere) in one infant and have not been recorded i n the fourth case. Post-ictal EEG abnormalities were numerous rolandic or temporal slow or fast sharp waves of variable polarity. Cranial CT scans showed uni- or bilateral intraventricular hemorrhage with dilat ation and subcortical or periventricular ischemic lesions with hemorrh age. Four out bf the five infants died during the neonatal period.