Intraventricular hemorrhage: past, present and future, focusing on classification, pathogenesis and prevention

The improvement in the survival rate of infants born at the limit of viabil ity, i.e. <26 weeks of gestational age, raises concern about the risk of ne urodevelopmental disabilities. The relevance of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), which is the most frequent cerebral lesion diagnosed in extremely l ow birth weight neonates, cannot then be underestimated. Pharmacological in terventions designed to prevent the occurrence of IVH and its complications have not been entirely conclusive. The understanding of pathogenetic facto rs involved in the genesis of IVH is the key to planning of new strategies and meanwhile of implementing care guidelines aimed at its prevention.