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 fluidin the ventricular system of the brain. Hemorrhagic hydrocephalus is a result of an intracranial hemorrhage, whichis 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 implantationof Rickham reservoir. The duty of the midwife was to solve a number of nursing problems, including: the risk ofincreased intracranial pressure, slow weight gain, infection or apnoea.Discussion. Intraventricular bleeding occurs mainly in children who are born prematurely. Prognosis in children afterintraventricular hemorrhage depends mainly on the severity of bleeding. In order to provide professional medicalcare, children with neurological complications should be treated in centres with the highest reference level, and thedecisive factor conditioning their proper psychomotor development in the future is early rehabilitation.Conclusions. Care for patients born prematurely with hemorrhagic hydrocephalus requires collaboration betweenthe medical staff and parents. The task of the midwife is to mitigate the negative effects of hydrocephalus as wellas support and educate parents. (JNNN 2021;10(1):42–47)