Intraventricular Hemorrhage in the Premature Infant

To the Editor: The figures quoted by Shinnar et al. (June 17 issue)¹ for the incidence and mortality rates of intraventricular hemorrhage may be influenced by the definition of their population. Intracranial hemorrhage is frequently diagnosed on the first postnatal day, and progressive ventricular dilatation is commonly observed in survivors.^2,3 By excluding first-day deaths, the authors may well have excluded fatal cases of intraventricular hemorrhage, thus underestimating both incidence and mortality rates. Because they excluded such patients, the incidence of neonatal seizures accompanying intracranial hemorrhage that was reported in their series may also be underestimated. Using serial cranial sonography,.