[Intranatal asphyxia, prematurity and congenital infection--their role for brain damage in very low birth weight newborns].

The authors examined 273 newborns weighing less than 1500 g. Their birth weight was very low (1001-1500 g) in 179 but extremely low (< 1000 g) in 94 newborns. Neurological damage was proved in 101 cases (36.99%). The probable reasons for intra- (peri-) ventricular and cerebral hemorrhages in these newborns were the following: respiratory distress syndrome (in 11 cases or 10.89%), mother-fetal infection (in 16 cases or 15.84%), and combination of asphyxia and infection (in 10 cases or 9.9%). The severe degree of prematurity (and immaturity) remained the only causative factor in the rest 64 premature newborns (63.37% of the cases). The results from the distribution of the neurological lesions according to the gestational age were also considered. Usage of monofactorial regression models detected statistically significant differences between asphyxia, infection and brain damage in the newborns of different gestational age.