Does indomethacin cause extension of intracranial hemorrhages: a preliminary study.

Thirty-six infants who had an intracranial hemorrhage (diagnosed by cranial ultrasound) within four days after delivery (mean age 2.4 +/- 0.9 (SD) days), were reexamined at three- to seven-day intervals for extension of their intracranial hemorrhage. Seventeen infants had a patent ductus arteriosus and were treated with indomethacin after the initial intracranial hemorrhage was diagnosed. The age for starting indomethacin was 3.8 +/- 1.1 days. Nineteen infants did not have a patent ductus arteriosus and did not receive indomethacin. Both the indomethacin-treated and nontreated groups were similar in birth weight, gestational age, Apgar scores, gender, incidence of respiratory distress, as well as the location and the degree of hemorrhage in the initial scans. Only one of 17 (6%) infants who received indomethacin v tow of 19 (11%) infants who did not receive it, had extension of their initial intracranial hemorrhage. Although indomethacin may alter platelet function, it does not appear to cause extension of a preexisting intracranial hemorrhage.