Extremely Premature Babies May Benefit from Intensive Care Treatment

Active treatment contributed substantially to improving survival in infants born at 22 to 24 weeks of gestation but not at 25 to 26 weeks.

Whether to initiate or withhold active lifesaving treatment in the most premature babies remains one of the most difficult and controversial decisions in perinatal care.

To assess whether active treatment increases survival, investigators compared outcomes between infants actively treated (receiving surfactant therapy, tracheal intubation, or ventilatory support) and the entire cohort of 4987 liveborn infants born at gestational age <27 weeks at 24 hospitals.

Active treatment rates increased with gestational age at birth (22% at 22 weeks, 72% at 23 weeks, 97% at 24 weeks, and >99% at 25 or 26 weeks). The hospital rate of active treatment accounted for 78% and 75% of the between-hospital variation in survival and survival without severe neurod…

Reviewing Author

Robin Steinhorn, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardActelion Pharmaceuticals

Editorial BoardsJournal of Pediatrics

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Pediatric Society (President); American Board of Pediatrics (Board of Directors)

Robin Steinhorn, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardActelion Pharmaceuticals

Editorial BoardsJournal of Pediatrics

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Pediatric Society (President); American Board of Pediatrics (Board of Directors)

Extremely Premature Babies May Benefit from Intensive Care Treatment

Topics

Reviewing Author