Prevalence and Morbidity of Late Preterm Infants Current Status in a Medical Center of Northern Taiwan》.pdfVIP

Pediatrics and Neonatology (2012) 53, 171e177 Available online at journal homepage: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Prevalence and Morbidity of Late Preterm Infants: Current Status in a Medical Center of Northern Taiwan * Ming-Luen Tsai, Reyin Lien , Ming-Chou Chiang, Jen-Fu Hsu, Ren-Huei Fu, Shih-Ming Chu, Chang-Yo Yang, Peng-Hong Yang Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children’s Hospital, Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan Received May 27, 2011; received in revised form Jul 7, 2011; accepted Jul 14, 2011 Key Words Background: “Late preterm” defines infants born at 340/7 through 366/7 weeks’ gestation, late preterm; which comprise a majority of preterm births. These infants were treated clinically as “near- morbidity; term” in the past, but recent studies have implied increased morbidities that differentiate late near-term; preterm and term infants. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and clin- readmission ical complications that could be associated with late preterm birth, as compared to term. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study that reviewed infants born in a medical center in Northern Taiwan during a 2-year period between 2008 and 2009. Maternal obstetrical factors, neonatal demographic distributions, and neonatal complications were compared between full-term and late preterm deliveries. Results: During the study period, there were 7998 live births in the institute, including 6507