Treatments and outcomes for very preterm infants (< 32 weeks gestation) divided into gestational age groups (weeks)
| Treatments and outcomes | <24 (n=19) | 24–25 (n=148) | 26–27 (n=230) | 28–29 (n=345) | 30–31 (n=499) | All <32 (n=1241) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data are presented as number (%) or as median (25th,75th centiles). Outcomes of ROP examinations and head ultrasounds are presented as a percentage of those examined. | ||||||
| *Excludes data for two neonatal intensive care units for which data were unavailable. | ||||||
| **For infants who received intermittent positive pressure ventilation for ≥ 4 hours and had a respiratory diagnosis of HMD. | ||||||
| †Of infants surviving to 36 weeks PMA. | ||||||
| ‡Of infants who survived to go home. | ||||||
| §For infants who received assisted ventilation and survived to go home. | ||||||
| ¶Late head ultrasound defined as a head ultrasound recorded >20 days after birth. | ||||||
| HMD, Hyaline membrane disease; PMA, postmenstrual age; ROP, retinopathy of prematurity. | ||||||
| Antenatal corticosteroids* | 9 (69) | 97 (82) | 145 (82) | 221 (82) | 319 (84) | 791 (83) |
| Surfactant for HMD** | 10 (83) | 102 (89) | 139 (94) | 145 (93) | 94 (81) | 490 (90) |
| Proven systemic infection | 7 (37) | 79 (53) | 96 (43) | 84 (24) | 59 (12) | 325 (26) |
| Proven necrotising enterocolitis | 0 (0) | 15 (10) | 12 (5) | 9 (3) | 5 (1) | 41 (3) |
| Respiratory morbidity | ||||||
| Received assisted ventilation | 19 (100) | 147 (99) | 230 (100) | 331 (96) | 417 (84) | 1144 (94) |
| Air leak requiring drainage | 3 (16) | 16 (11) | 14 (6) | 17 (5) | 15 (3) | 65 (5) |
| Oxygen at 36 weeks PMA† | 6 (75) | 44 (42) | 56 (28) | 30 (9) | 23 (5) | 159 (14) |
| Resp support at 36 weeks PMA† | 6 (75) | 49 (47) | 61 (30) | 33 (10) | 23 (5) | 172 (15) |
| Home oxygen therapy‡ | 4 (50) | 25 (24) | 31 (15) | 8 (2) | 5 (1) | 73 (6) |
| Days of assisted ventilation§ | 77 (68,83) | 60 (49,72) | 40 (28,54) | 13 (6,28) | 4 (2,7) | 11 (4,37) |
| ROP | ||||||
| Examined for ROP‡ | 8 (100) | 99 (93) | 181 (91) | 252 (77) | 235 (49) | 775 (69) |
| Stage 1 or2I | 3 (38) | 38 (38) | 43 (24) | 37 (15) | 6 (3) | 127 (16) |
| Stage 3 or 4 | 2 (25) | 13 (13) | 5 (3) | 1 (0) | 1 (0) | 22 (3) |
| Intraventricular haemorrhage | ||||||
| Early ultrasound recorded | 15 (79) | 138 (94) | 221 (96) | 334 (97) | 408 (82) | 1116 (90) |
| Grade 1 or 2 | 2 (13) | 20 (14) | 40 (18) | 39 (12) | 27 (7) | 128 (11) |
| Grade 3 or 4 | 5 (33) | 21 (15) | 19 (9) | 13 (4) | 1 (0) | 59 (5) |
| Late ultrasound recordedঠ| 4 (50) | 89 (84) | 145 (72) | 210 (64) | 190 (39) | 638 (57) |
| Hydrocephalus | 0 (0) | 5 (6) | 0 (0) | 3 (1) | 0 (0) | 8 (1) |
| Periventricular leucomalacia | 0 (0) | 3 (3) | 1 (1) | 4 (2) | 2 (1) | 10 (2) |
| Porencephalic cysts | 0 (0) | 2 (2) | 8 (6) | 4 (2) | 3 (2) | 17 (3) |
| Survived to discharge home | 8 (42) | 106 (72) | 201 (87) | 328 (95) | 486 (97) | 1129 (91) |
| Survived free of major morbidity | 2 (11) | 41 (28) | 123 (53) | 281 (81) | 451 (90) | 898 (72) |
| Length of stay (days)‡ | 125 (114,135) | 106 (95,122) | 82 (70,98) | 61 (53,72) | 42 (34,51) | 59 (43,79) |
| PMA at discharge home (weeks)‡ | 40.8 (39.2,42.2) | 39.7 (38.4,41.5) | 38.3 (36.9,40.1) | 37.4 (36.1,38.4) | 36.4 (35.6,37.7) | 37.3 (36.0,39.0) |