Clinical outcomes for live-born singletons without congenital anomalies
| LMPT | Term | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32+0–33+6 weeks | 34+0–36+6 weeks | ≥37 weeks | p Value* | |
| Number of infants, n | 122 | 785 | 972 | |
| Place of birth | ||||
| Hospital, n (%) | 119 (97.5) | 780 (99.4) | 938 (96.5) | |
| Midwifery-led unit, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.1) | 9 (0.9) | |
| Home/outside hospital | 3 (0.0) | 4 (0.5) | 25 (2.6) | |
| Deaths before discharge, n (%) | 2 (1.6) | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | |
| Any active resuscitation at birth, n (%) | 45 (36.9) | 114 (14.5) | 72 (7.4) | <0.001 |
| Endotracheal intubation at birth, n (%) | 11 (9.0) | 19 (2.4) | 8 (0.8) | <0.001 |
| Delivery of postnatal care | ||||
| All newborn care on postnatal ward (overall), n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 505 (64.3) | 910 (93.6) | <0.001 |
| Any care in a NNU (overall), n (%) | 122 (100.0) | 280 (35.7) | 43 (4.4)† | <0.001 |
| All care on postnatal ward, n (%) of those born in hospital | 0 (0.0) | 501 (64.2) | 896 (95.5) | |
| Any care in a NNU, n (%) of those born in hospital | 118 (100.0) | 279 (35.8) | 42 (4.5) | |
| All care on a postnatal ward, n (%) of those born in midwifery-led unit | 0 (0.0) | 1 (100.0) | 9 (100.0) | |
| Any care in a NNU, n (%) of those born in midwifery-led unit | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| All care on a postnatal ward, n (%) of those born at home | 0 (0.0) | 3 (75.0) | 5 (20.0) | |
| Any care in a NNU, n (%) of those born at home‡ | 3 (100.0) | 1 (25.0) | 1 (4.0) | |
| Length of hospital stay, days, median (range) | 16 (4,78) | 4 (1, 49) | 2 (0, 25) | 0.013§ |
| Surgical procedures, n (%) | 2 (1.7) | 3 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0.002 |
| Maximum level of respiratory support | ||||
| Mechanical ventilation, n (%) | 27 (22.1) | 48 (6.1) | 8 (0.8) | |
| Non-invasive respiratory support, n (%) | 14 (11.5) | 18 (2.3) | 1 (0.1) | |
| Oxygen therapy, n (%) | 6 (4.9) | 30 (3.8) | 8 (0.8) | |
| No respiratory support, n (%) | 75 (61.5) | 689 (87.8) | 955 (98.3) | <0.001 |
| Ventilation and/or non-invasive respiratory support | ||||
| n (%) | 41 (33.6) | 66 (8.4) | 9 (0.9) | <0.001 |
| Days of mechanical ventilation and non-invasive respiratory support, median (range) | 2 (1, 26) | 2 (1, 13) | 3 (1, 4) | 0.078§ |
| Parenteral nutrition | ||||
| n (%) | 15 (12.3) | 17 (2.2) | 3 (0.3) | <0.001 |
| Days of parenteral nutrition, median (range) | 8 (2, 60) | 4 (1, 32) | 3 (3, 3) | 0.10§ |
| Intravenous (IV) fluids | ||||
| n (%) | 84 (68.9) | 159 (20.3) | 20 (2.1) | <0.001 |
| Days of IV fluids, median (range) | 2 (1, 11) | 2 (1, 14) | 2.5 (1, 10) | 0.053§ |
| Days to full oral suck feeds | ||||
| Median (range) | 12 (0, 32) | 0 (0, 95) | 0 (0, 19) | 0.016§ |
| Nasogastric feeds on discharge, n (%) | 2 (1.7) | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0.002 |
| Any breast milk given, n (%) | 81 (66.4) | 501 (63.8) | 717 (73.8) | <0.001 |
| Receiving breast milk at discharge, n (%) | 64/120 (53.3) | 460/784 (58.7) | 701/971 (72.2) | <0.001 |
| Exclusive breast milk feeding at discharge, n (%) | 41/120 (34.2) | 314/784 (40.0) | 632/971 (65.1) | <0.001 |
| Jaundice treated with phototherapy, n (%) | 72 (59.0) | 127 (16.2) | 6 (0.6) | <0.001 |
| Hypothermia (temperature <36.0°C), n (%) | 11 (9.0) | 73 (9.3) | 12 (1.2) | <0.001 |
| Hypoglycaemia (blood glucose <2.0 mmol/L), n (%) | 16 (13.1) | 45 (5.7) | 9 (0.9) | <0.001 |
| Investigations | ||||
| Cranial ultrasound scan, n (%) | 28 (23.0) | 35 (4.5) | 14 (1.4) | <0.001 |
| MRI scan, n (%) | 1 (0.8) | 7 (0.9) | 5 (0.5) | 0.39 |
| Chest X-ray, n (%) | 53 (43.4) | 122 (15.5) | 23 (2.4) | <0.001 |
| Screen for suspected sepsis, n (%) | 76 (62.3) | 251 (32.0) | 48 (4.9) | <0.001 |
| Positive culture results, n (%) | 3 (2.5) | 13 (1.7) | 0 (0.0) | <0.001 |
*χ2 test for trend across all three gestational age categories unless otherwise stated.
†32–33 weeks are not included in calculation of the p value as all will enter NNU.
‡Some infants born at home remained at home.
§Kendall's Tau test across all three gestational age categories.
LMPT, late and moderately preterm; NNU, neonatal unit.