Problems of Nursing Care of Prematurely Born Children with Haemorrhagic Hydrocephalus — Case Report

Abstract

Introduction. Hydrocephalus is a pathological condition leading to excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricular system of the brain. Hemorrhagic hydrocephalus is a result of an intracranial hemorrhage, which is among the most common neurological complications in prematurely born newborns. Case Report. A male patient was born by caesarean section at 31 weeks, in severe condition. During ultrasonography, intraventricular hemorrhage III° was found. The patient was transported to a surgical clinic for the implantation of Rickham reservoir. The duty of the midwife was to solve a number of nursing problems, including: the risk of increased intracranial pressure, slow weight gain, infection or apnoea. Discussion. Intraventricular bleeding occurs mainly in children who are born prematurely. Prognosis in children after intraventricular hemorrhage depends mainly on the severity of bleeding. In order to provide professional medical care, children with neurological complications should be treated in centres with the highest reference level, and the decisive factor conditioning their proper psychomotor development in the future is early rehabilitation. Conclusions. Care for patients born prematurely with hemorrhagic hydrocephalus requires collaboration between the medical staff and parents. The task of the midwife is to mitigate the negative effects of hydrocephalus as well as support and educate parents. (JNNN 2021;10(1):42–47)

Keywords

• hemorrhagic hydrocephalus
• nursing care problems
• prematurity