Recurrent Hospitalization Linked With Late Preterm Birth

Although late preterm infants were previously considered similar to term infants, emerging evidence suggests that significant adverse developmental outcomes among late preterm infants.

Kids born late preterm (34-36 weeks) had a significantly greater risk of recurrent hospitalization due to respiratory illness compared to those who were born full term (>37 weeks), shows a new study of children up to 2 years of age.

‘Late preterm infants were also more likely to require early intervention to help them catch up, and were more likely to be underweight and shorter than infants born at term.’

The repeat hospital visits also occurred at an earlier age in the late preterm birth group of children, according to an article in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology website.

Oded Breuer, MD and coauthors from Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel reported their results in the article entitled "Respiratory Hospitalizations and Rehospitalizations in Infants Born Late Preterm." The children required hospital treatment mainly for wheezing-related illness.

"Late preterm infants comprise the largest segment of premature infants and their numbers are growing. There have been few studies looking at the long-term outcomes of these children and the respiratory risks they face. The study by Breuer et al. is an important contribution highlighting the respiratory risks and morbidity in late preterm births beyond the first few months of life," says Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology Editor-in-Chief Mary Cataletto, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

Source: Eurekalert