Original ArticlesMajor birth defects in very low birth weight infants in the Vermont Oxford Network☆
Section snippets
Methods
The VON comprises voluntary member neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), primarily from North America, and maintains a database on VLBW infants.3, 4 The member units submit data on all live-born infants with a birth weight of 501 to 1500 g (irrespective of gestational age), born in their hospital (inborn infants) or transported there before 28 days' postnatal age (outborn infants).
Major birth defects are defined as those that appear in a predefined list included in the Vermont Oxford Netwwork
Results
Data were reported from 147 NICUs for 19,254 infants born in 1994 and 1995. The median number of infants reported from each hospital was 107, with an interquartile range of 54 to 186. We analyzed data from the 19,228 (99.9%) infants for whom data on birth defects were available. Major birth defects were reported in 823 (4.3%).
Table I describes the general demographic characteristics of all the infants and compares infants with and without birth defects; the data for the variables were available
Discussion
In this study we have described the frequency, types, and impact of major birth defects in a large sample of live-born VLBW infants treated in NICUs in the VON. We found that 4.3% of live-born VLBW infants had major birth defects as defined in the VON Database. In population-based studies of infants of all birth weights, approximately 3% to 4% of infants were given a diagnosis of a major birth defect in the first year of life.8, 9 In other studies of infants with birth weights <1500 g,
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Alan Guttmacher, MD, for his review of the defects chosen for reporting and the classification we used in this article.
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Cited by (15)
The vermont Oxford network: A community of practice
2010, Clinics in PerinatologyCitation Excerpt :The Vermont Oxford Network databases provide a platform for observational studies and outcomes research. These observational studies have addressed trends over time,9,10 outcomes in various groups of interest,11–14 and the diffusion, use, and effect of various interventions.15–18 The Vermont Oxford Network has conducted research to assess the contribution of differences in the structure and organization of the NICU to variations in patient outcomes.
Ten-year review of major birth defects in VLBW infants
2013, PediatricsThe epidemiology of hepatoblastoma
2012, Pediatric Blood and CancerPerils and opportunities of comparative performance measurement
2012, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent MedicineBirth weight in children with birth defects
2011, Birth Defects Research Part A - Clinical and Molecular Teratology
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Reprint requests: Gautham K. Suresh, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Vermont College of Medicine, A121 Given Building, Burlington, VT 05405.