REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
This article is part of the Research TopicDeveloping brain in neonatal stage: mechanism, prediction and interventionView all articles
Current Approaches to Predicting Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Preterm Neonates Using Blood Biomarkers
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Pilsen, Pilsen, Czechia
- 2Univerzita Karlova Lekarska fakulta v Plzni, Pilsen, Czechia
- 3Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Haematology, University Hospital Pilsen, Pilsen, Czechia
- 4Department of Immunochemistry Diagnostics, University Hospital Pilsen, Pilsen, Czechia
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Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a serious complication of preterm birth that can lead to permanent neurodevelopmental impairment. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in identifying and validating biomarkers capable of predicting the onset and progression of IVH, as well as other forms of neonatal brain injury. The implementation of reliable biomarkers into routine clinical practice represents a crucial step toward developing effective neuroprotective strategies and preventing irreversible brain damage in preterm infants. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding blood-based biomarkers and their potential to predict the risk of IVH in preterm neonates. We focus on markers of brain injury, inflammatory markers, growth factors, vasoactive substances, indicators of oxidative stress, and emerging findings from the fields of genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. We highlight the most promising biomarker candidates, discuss their biological plausibility, and critically evaluate the methodological challenges currently limiting their clinical translation. Furthermore, we outline future research directions that may facilitate the development of reliable diagnostic tools and promote the integration of personalized neuroprotective strategies into neonatal care. The early and accurate prediction of IVH remains a major unmet need in neonatology, and advances in biomarker-based approaches hold considerable promise for guiding clinical decision-making and improving long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants.
Keywords: biomarkers, Cerebral intraventricular hemorrhage, Extremely preterm infants, Early detection of disease, neonate
Received: 15 Sep 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kasíková, Brož, Dort and Topolčan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marie Kasíková, marus.kasikova@gmail.com
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