Respiratory morbidity in newborns with a gestational age at or above 32 weeks

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the reasons for early admissions to two neonatal intensive care units (NICU) for respiratory morbidity, defined as any disease presenting with respiratory symptoms in moderate to late preterm and term infants.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included all infants with gestational age (GA) ≥ 32 weeks admitted to the NICUs in 2021 in two hospitals covering almost 20% of all births in Denmark.

RESULTS: In total, 921 infants (8% of all liveborn with a GA ≥ 32 weeks) were admitted to the NICUs within the first 24 hours of life. Among these, 60% were diagnosed with respiratory morbidity, with a corresponding incidence of 35% and 3.2% in preterm and term infants, respectively. In the term group, the median duration of respiratory support was five hours, with 73% being treated for less than 12 hours. In the preterm group, respiratory support was also brief (19 hours median), and 30 (15%) infants developed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (5.3% incidence of liveborn with a GA of 32-36 weeks).

CONCLUSIONS: In term newborns, mild respiratory morbidity is the most frequent cause for early admission, and the duration of treatment is often short. In moderate to late preterm infants, respiratory morbidity also tends to be mild, though 15% of the admitted infants developed RDS.

FUNDING: None.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not relevant.