[Incidence of cerebral hemorrhage in newborn infants diagnosed by echography in Yaoundé, Cameroon].

Among 84 at-risk neonates studied over a 1-year period, 15 presented with cerebral hemorrhage (CH) detected by ultrasound. The incidence of CH was 46% in premature infants with a gestational age less than or equal to 35 weeks and 5% in neonates with a gestational age greater than 35 weeks. In 12 cases, CH was subependymal and the totally regressed. In 3 cases, the bleeding was more severe. There were 3 deaths among the 15 infants. This study underlines the high frequency of CH among the neonates in Yaoundé, and justifies systematic screening for it in the high-risk population and points out areas in which perinatal care could be improved upon and premature birth prevented.