Abstract

Background. Cerebral haemorrhages in newborns occur as a consequence of premature birth, Iow birth weight and newborn respiratory failure. These haemorrhages often lead to hydrocephalus with subsequent delayed psychomotor deve-lopment. Early surgery and comprehensive rehabilitation improve psychomotor functions and the ąuality oflife in this group of children. Materiał and methods. We studied 25 infants in the first six months oflife treated at the Department of Paediatric Surgery of Regional Hospital No. 2 in Rzeszów, and the Surgery and Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic between 2004 and 2007. The psychomotor development of the infants was evaluated according to the Munich Functional Development Scalę in the third and six months oflife. The evaluation concentrated on the gross motorskills ofhead control in the prone and su-pine positions and use ofthe upper extremities forsupport. Results and Concusions. Analysis of the results confirmed the efficacy of the rehabilitation regimen. Better outcomes were obtained in children with less severe haemorrhages, i. e. with lower probability of CNS injury. The parents should be involved in the process of rehabilitation both in the hospital and at home.

Key words:

cerebral haemorrhage, rehabilitation, hydrocephalus