Investigation Into the Current Situation and Analysis of the Factors Influencing Extrauterine Growth Retardation in Preterm Infants.

Ting Zhao,Bayier Caicike,Hui-Ming Feng,Yan-Ping Zhu

doi:10.3389/fped.2021.643387

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to explore the occurrence of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) in preterm infants with a gestational age of <34 weeks, at discharge, and the factors influencing the occurrence of EUGR.Method: A retrospective analysis of 691 preterm infants with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks, born in our hospital over the past 3 years. At discharge, the growth indicators head circumference, weight, and length were used to divide the infants into an EUGR group (n = 255) and the non-EUGR group (n = 436). The occurrence of EUGR and its influencing factors were then analyzed.Results: Of the 691 preterm infants evaluated for inclusion in the study, 255 cases (36.9%) met the requirements of EUGR at discharge. The different growth indicators used, i.e., weight, length, and head circumference, classified the infants differently. The incidence of EUGR using these measures was 30.2% (209), 27.9% (193), and 23.2% (161), respectively. The results of a univariate analysis showed that gestational age, birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), maternal gestational hypertension, age at which the infant commenced feeding, duration of the application of an invasive ventilator, length of hospital stay, nosocomial infection, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus, and the early onset of neonatal sepsis were correlated with the occurrence of EUGR. Further logistic multivariate regression analysis revealed that low gestational age, low birth weight, complicated IUGR, respiratory distress syndrome, and necrotizing enterocolitis were independent risk factors for EUGR in preterm infants with a gestational age <34 weeks.Conclusion: In preterm infants with a gestational age <34 weeks in our hospital, there is a high incidence of EUGR, which is affected by factors such as the gestational age, birth weight, IUGR, respiratory distress syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis, and other factors.

Highlights

American researchers, Clark et al, first proposed the definition for extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in preterm infants in 2003, i.e., newborns with the growth indicators less than the 10th percentile of the average growth indicators in infants of the same gestational age [1]
The statistically significant variables from the univariate analysis were introduced into the logistic multivariate regression analysis and the results revealed that low gestational age, low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), respiratory distress syndrome, and necrotizing enterocolitis were independent risk factors for EUGR
The results of this study show that the incidence of EUGR in 691 preterm infants with a gestational age of

Summary

Introduction

Clark et al, first proposed the definition for extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in preterm infants in 2003, i.e., newborns with the growth indicators (weight, length, and head circumference) less than the 10th percentile of the average growth indicators in infants of the same gestational age [1]. Studies have found that preterm infants with EUGR are at increased risk of developing respiratory disease after their discharge from the hospital. They are prone to developing physical dysplasia in the short term and may encounter complications such as adolescent hypertension, metabolic and endocrine abnormalities, and serious neurological development problems in the long term, which may affect quality of life [2,3,4,5]. It is important to investigate the factors influencing EUGR in preterm infants and to reduce its occurrence [6]. This research aims to provide a reference for the clinical prevention of EUGR

Methods

Results

Conclusion