Effect of preeclampsia on mortality, intraventricular hemorrhage, and need for mechanical ventilation in very low-birth-weight infants

Infants born to mothers with preeclampsia have been shown to have a reduction in intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). The objective of this article is to investigate the relationship between preeclampsia, IVH, neonatal mortality, mechanical ventilation; and other potential confounding variables such as neutropenia and magnesium sulfate. Methods of research include review of infants <1500 g admitted to a single level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), n = 356. Infants born to mothers with preeclampsia were compared to those without maternal preeclampsia by univariate and multivariate analysis. Overall, 52 mothers were diagnosed with preeclampsia. After multivariate modeling, preeclampsia was not associated with a decrease in mechanical ventilation (odds ratio 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-1.3), IVH (odds ratio 0.5, 0.1-1.9) or mortality (odds ratio 0.6, 0.2-1.9). In our population, after controlling for multiple confounding variables, including MgSO₄, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia, there was no difference in the odds of mortality, IVH, or requirement for mechanical ventilation in infants born to mothers with preeclampsia as compared to infants born to mothers without preeclampsia.