GENDER DIFFERENCES IN NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES AMONG FULL-TERM INFANTS WITH INTRAVENTRICULAR HEMORRHAGE

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is usually associated with premature infants; however, it has been estimated to occur in up to 5% of infants born at term and may be associated with different prenatal, perinatal and postnatal risk factors. The present retrospective study included toddlers aged 13-24 months, born at term (≥36 weeks), referred to the Department of Rheumatology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Zagreb, Croatia, because they had at least two risk factors for neurodevelopmental delay. A total of 63 patients without hemorrhage were control subjects, while 103 case patients were children with IVH. The ordinal logistic regression revealed that neurodevelopmental outcome in term infants was associated with IVH grade (p<0.05). Although more boys than girls suffered from severe IVH (grades III and IV), there were no statistically significant gender differences in the distribution of IVH or in neurodevelopmental outcomes (p>0.05).