Steven A. Seepersaud
Georgetown Public Hospital, Guyana
Title: Survival and associated long-term outcomes of very preterm infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) from 2015 to 2017
Biography
Biography: Steven A. Seepersaud
Abstract
Objectives: (1) To evaluate survival of very preterm infants admitted to the NICU at GPHC from 2015 to 2017. (2) To assess associated long-term outcomes of these infants. (3) To make recommendations on the follow-up of very preterm infants.
Design and Methods: For phase I (cross-sectional), charts for all preterm infants admitted to the NICU at GPHC from 2015 to 2017 were pulled and outcomes were recorded (discharge or death). For phase II (retrospective cohort), surviving very preterm infants were randomly selected from a pool of 143 infants until a quota of 35 patients per year (105 total) was reached to achieve a confidence level of 95%. Parents were contacted via phone, and the Ages & Stages Questionnaires were conducted with consent.
Results: There was a significant association between GA and survival for preterm infants admitted to the NICU at GPHC from 2015 to 2017 (χ² (2)=85.044, p<0.001). Very preterm infants scored poorly in all ASQ categories except gross motor category. There was no significant association between time spent in the NICU or mode of delivery and ASQ scores (χ² (68)=79.137, p=0.205; χ² (2)=1.879, p=0.449) or parental concerns (χ² (102)=122.749, p=0.079; χ² (3)=1.775, p=0.620).
Conclusion: Survival of preterm infants is directly proportional to GA. Moreover, overall survival of very preterm infants admitted to the NICU at GPHC was survival 51% during periods of study. Gross motor was the only developmental category that appeared to be on schedule for these very preterm infants. However, overall development among these infants was very poor, especially with language and speech.