Objective: Our purpose was to determine gestational age-specific outcomes of infants born in a period of surfactant use.
Study design: All 465 consecutive births between 23 and 28 weeks' gestation in a tertiary center from 1987 to 1992 were analyzed prospectively. At 18 months' corrected age, 217 of 254 (85%) survivors were evaluated.
Results: From 1987 and 1988 to 1991 and 1992 there was an increase in survival for infants born at 24 weeks (from 0% to 33% p = 0.17), 25 to 26 weeks (38% to 71%, p < 0.005), and 27 to 28 weeks (66% to 84%, p < 0.05). At each weekly interval from 24 to 28 weeks of gestation the respective incidence of normality was 44%, 71%, 57%, 76% and 72% (not significant) and the respective mean developmental quotient was 91 +/- 17, 89 +/- 25, 90 +/- 24, 96 +/- 15 and 96 +/- 14 (not significant).
Conclusions: Gestational age was strongly associated with outcome in terms of survival. Overall, 70% of children followed up were developing within the normal range.