Article Text
Abstract
Background: Newborns of 30–34 weeks gestation comprise 3.9% of all live births in the United States and 32% of all premature infants. They have been studied much less than very low birthweight infants.
Objective: To measure in-hospital outcomes and readmission within three months of discharge of moderately premature infants.
Design: Prospective cohort study including retrospective chart review and telephone interviews after discharge.
Setting: Ten birth hospitals in California and Massachusetts.
Patients: Surviving moderately premature infants born between October 2001 and February 2003.
Main outcome measures: (a) Occurrence of assisted ventilation during the hospital stay after birth; (b) adverse in-hospital outcomes—for example, necrotising enterocolitis; (c) readmission within three months of discharge.
Results: With the use of prospective cluster sampling, 850 eligible infants and their families were identified, randomly selected, and enrolled. A total of 677 families completed a telephone interview three months after hospital discharge. During the birth stay, these babies experienced substantial morbidity: 45.7% experienced assisted ventilation, and 3.2% still required supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks. Readmission within three months occurred in 11.2% of the cohort and was higher among male infants and those with chronic lung disease.
Conclusions: Moderately premature infants experience significant morbidity, as evidenced by high rates of assisted ventilation, use of oxygen at 36 weeks, and readmission. Such morbidity deserves more research.
- NICU, neonatal intensive care unit
- PMA, postmenstrual age
- assisted ventilation
- outcomes
- prematurity
- morbidity
- intensive care
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Footnotes
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Published Online First 12 April 2006
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Competing interests: none declared
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Presented at a platform session at the May 2004 meetings of the Society for Pediatric Research in San Francisco, California, and at Bethesda, MD at the NICHD Workshop on Optimizing Care and Long-term Outcome of Near-term Pregnancy and the Near-term Newborn Infant in July of 2005.
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D K Richardson is deceased.