Abstract
Objective
To compare hypoglycemia and the other early neonatal morbidities (from birth till hospital discharge) of late preterm babies born small for gestational age (LP SGA) with their appropriate for age (LP AGA) counterparts.
Methods
LP SGA and LP AGA, as defined by Fenton charts, were prospectively followed-up to assess development of predefined morbidities, mortality and readmission rates at one month. All live inborn late preterm babies (340/7 to 366/7 weeks, n = 238) were included.
Results
LP SGA babies (n = 72) as compared to LP AGA babies (n = 166) were at higher risk for developing at least one predefined neonatal morbidity before hospital discharge [RR 1.93 (1.6–2.3; p < 0.001)]. These included hypoglycemia, hypothermia, respiratory morbidity needing support, jaundice needing treatment, feeding difficulties, birth asphyxia, and sepsis; besides, significant rates of readmissions and duration of hospital stay.
Conclusions
Being born small for gestation age acts an additional jeopardizing factor in late preterm babies.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge support of the patients and their parents who consented to the study and agreed for follow up. They also acknowledge help of the NICU and postnatal ward staffs for helping in patient care and giving inputs, their fellow residents for their continuous support and motivation, the hospital IT dept. for statistical help and tracking patient details, their family for their unconditional support and Mr. Ranganadham Srinadh for statistical analysis of logistic regression.
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KV designed the study, made protocol and drafted the final manuscript. AKM collected the data and did the preliminary analysis. RKT, VVT and SCS analyzed the data and contributed in the finalization of the manuscript. KV is the guarantor for this article.
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Mallick, A.K., Venkatnarayan, K., Thapar, R.K. et al. Morbidity Patterns of Late Preterm Babies Born Small for Gestation. Indian J Pediatr 86, 578–583 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-019-02925-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-019-02925-4