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The clinical outcomes of late preterm infants: a multi-center survey of Zhejiang, China

  • Xiaolu Ma , Chunxiang Huang , Shouzeng Lou , Qin Lv , Weidong Su , Jiarong Tan , Youcheng Wang , Xinxin Wang , Mingyuan Wu , Ting Xu , Manli Zhuang , Lizhong Du and the Provincial Collaborative Study Group for Late-preterm Infants
Published/Copyright: July 10, 2009
Journal of Perinatal Medicine
From the journal Volume 37 Issue 6

Abstract

Objective: To explore birth rate, delivery mode, medical problems, requirement of respiratory support, and acute outcomes of late preterm infants in Zhejiang province in eastern China.

Methods: Eleven tertiary hospitals were recruited. Clinical data of every nursery admission from January to December 2007 were collected and analyzed.

Results: During the study period, 44,362 infants were born with an overall preterm birth rate of 8.9%, and late preterm birth rate of 6.2%. Late preterm infants had higher cesarean section rate than the whole population (64.9% vs. 58.2%). One-fifth of the nursery admissions were late preterm infants, of whom, 63.8% were delivered by cesarean section. Respiratory distress (42.1%) was the most common medical problem of late preterm infants. Hyperbilirubinemia (17.6%), hypoglycemia (8.7%) and sepsis (5.9%) were also common. The first three primary diagnoses of respiratory distress included pneumonia (39.5%), transient tachypnea of newborn (TTN) (22.5%) and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (19.0%). Compared with term infants, late preterm infants with respiratory distress needed more respiratory support with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) (21.4% vs. 11.6%) or with a mechanical ventilator (15.4% vs. 11.0%), and also had higher in-hospital mortality (0.8% vs. 0.4%).

Conclusions: Late preterm infants are associated with very high cesarean section rate and have more medical problems and poorer short-term outcomes than term infants in China.

Keywords: Cesarean section; late preterm; outcome; respiratory distress syndrome; transient tachypnea
Corresponding author: Lizhong Du, PhD Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine Hangzhou Zhejiang China
Received: 2009-2-11
Revised: 2009-4-14
Accepted: 2009-5-28
Published Online: 2009-07-10
Published in Print: 2009-11-01

©2009 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York

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  2. Delivery mode for the extremely premature fetus: a statement of the prematurity working group of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine
  3. Review articles
  4. The infant incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit: unresolved issues and future developments
  5. Survival and major disability rate in infant born at 22–25 weeks of gestation
  6. Original articles – Obstetrics
  7. Gene expression profiling of maternal blood in early onset severe preeclampsia: identification of novel biomarkers
  8. Risk assessment for preeclampsia in women with gestational diabetes mellitus
  9. Maternal serum adiponectin multimers in patients with a small-for-gestational-age newborn
  10. Maternal serum adiponectin multimers in gestational diabetes
  11. The effect of maternal obesity on the course of labor
  12. Decreased placental oxygenation capacity in pre-eclampsia: clinical application of a novel index of placental function preformed at the time of delivery
  13. Utility of two-dimensional echocardiography in pregnancy and post-partum period and impact on management in an inner city hospital
  14. A new obstetrical polyurethane versus stainless steel forceps: a comparison of forces generated to the base of the fetal skull during simulated deliveries
  15. Original article – Fetus
  16. Nuchal translucency and lymphatic system maldevelopment
  17. Orginal articles – Newborn
  18. Indicators of compliance for developmental follow-up of infants discharged from a regional NICU
  19. Disparity in circulating adiponectin multimers between term and preterm infants
  20. Reduction of IGF-binding protein-3 as a potential marker of intra-uterine growth restriction
  21. The clinical outcomes of late preterm infants: a multi-center survey of Zhejiang, China
  22. Early enteral feeding in conservatively managed stage II necrotizing enterocolitis is associated with a reduced risk of catheter-related sepsis
  23. Short communications
  24. Serum proinflammatory cytokine – interleukin-8 as possible infection site marker in preterm deliveries
  25. Obstetric outcomes of low-risk labors at ‘Japanese tatami’ mat delivery room: a preliminary study
  26. Letters to the Editor
  27. Diagnosis and treatment of maternal acute myeloid leukemia during pregnancy imitating HELLP syndrome
  28. Vanishing nuchal translucency syndrome
  29. Congenital cataract with de novo balanced reciprocal t(3;13) (q23;q12) translocation in a newborn
  30. Breast feeding as human and divine nourishment
  31. Obituary
  32. Emile Papiernik will stay alive in our thoughts
  33. Congress Calendar
  34. Congress Calendar
  35. Index Volume 37 (2009)
  36. Index Volume 37 (2009) - Contents
  37. Index - Subjects
  38. Index - Subjects
  39. Index - Authors
  40. Index - Authors
  41. Acknowledgement
  42. Acknowledgement
https://doi.org/10.1515/JPM.2009.130
Keywords for this article
Cesarean section; late preterm; outcome; respiratory distress syndrome; transient tachypnea

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Expert panel recommendation
  2. Delivery mode for the extremely premature fetus: a statement of the prematurity working group of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine
  3. Review articles
  4. The infant incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit: unresolved issues and future developments
  5. Survival and major disability rate in infant born at 22–25 weeks of gestation
  6. Original articles – Obstetrics
  7. Gene expression profiling of maternal blood in early onset severe preeclampsia: identification of novel biomarkers
  8. Risk assessment for preeclampsia in women with gestational diabetes mellitus
  9. Maternal serum adiponectin multimers in patients with a small-for-gestational-age newborn
  10. Maternal serum adiponectin multimers in gestational diabetes
  11. The effect of maternal obesity on the course of labor
  12. Decreased placental oxygenation capacity in pre-eclampsia: clinical application of a novel index of placental function preformed at the time of delivery
  13. Utility of two-dimensional echocardiography in pregnancy and post-partum period and impact on management in an inner city hospital
  14. A new obstetrical polyurethane versus stainless steel forceps: a comparison of forces generated to the base of the fetal skull during simulated deliveries
  15. Original article – Fetus
  16. Nuchal translucency and lymphatic system maldevelopment
  17. Orginal articles – Newborn
  18. Indicators of compliance for developmental follow-up of infants discharged from a regional NICU
  19. Disparity in circulating adiponectin multimers between term and preterm infants
  20. Reduction of IGF-binding protein-3 as a potential marker of intra-uterine growth restriction
  21. The clinical outcomes of late preterm infants: a multi-center survey of Zhejiang, China
  22. Early enteral feeding in conservatively managed stage II necrotizing enterocolitis is associated with a reduced risk of catheter-related sepsis
  23. Short communications
  24. Serum proinflammatory cytokine – interleukin-8 as possible infection site marker in preterm deliveries
  25. Obstetric outcomes of low-risk labors at ‘Japanese tatami’ mat delivery room: a preliminary study
  26. Letters to the Editor
  27. Diagnosis and treatment of maternal acute myeloid leukemia during pregnancy imitating HELLP syndrome
  28. Vanishing nuchal translucency syndrome
  29. Congenital cataract with de novo balanced reciprocal t(3;13) (q23;q12) translocation in a newborn
  30. Breast feeding as human and divine nourishment
  31. Obituary
  32. Emile Papiernik will stay alive in our thoughts
  33. Congress Calendar
  34. Congress Calendar
  35. Index Volume 37 (2009)
  36. Index Volume 37 (2009) - Contents
  37. Index - Subjects
  38. Index - Subjects
  39. Index - Authors
  40. Index - Authors
  41. Acknowledgement
  42. Acknowledgement
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