Risk factors for moderate/severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants with a gestational age of

Abstract

To investigate the risk factors for moderate/severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 weeks. A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 weeks and a length of hospital stay of ≥28 days who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of 17 institutions of Jiangsu Neonatal Perinatal Cooperation Network from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020 and were diagnosed with BPD. The preterm infants were grouped according to gestational age and severity of BPD. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for moderate/severe BPD in various gestational age groups. During the two-year period, a total of 2 603 preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 weeks were admitted to the NICU of the 17 institutions, among whom 961 were diagnosed with BPD, and the incidence rates of BPD and moderate/severe BPD were 36.92% (961/2 603) and 8.64% (225/2 603), respectively. The incidence rate of moderate/severe BPD was 56.5% (26/46) in preterm infants with a gestational age of 24+0-25+6 weeks, 31.0% (66/213) in those with a gestational age of 26+0-27+6 weeks, 16.9% (75/445) in those with a gestational age of 28+0-29+6 weeks, and 22.6% (58/257) in those with a gestational age of 30+0-31+6 weeks. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that there were different risk factors for moderate/severe BPD in preterm infants with different gestational ages: patent ductus arteriosus requiring treatment as risk factors in preterm infants with a gestational age of 24+0-25+6 weeks; premature rupture of membranes ≥18 hours, positive pressure ventilation for resuscitation, clinical sepsis, and duration of mechanical ventilation ≥14 days as risk factors in preterm infants with a gestational age of 26+0-27+6 weeks; duration of mechanical ventilation ≥14 days, neonatal pneumonia, and patent ductus arteriosus requiring treatment as risk factors in preterm infants with a gestational age of 28+0-29+6 weeks; positive pressure ventilation for resuscitation, neonatal pneumonia, and anemia of prematurity as risk factors in preterm infants with a gestational age of 30+0-31+6 weeks (P<0.05). The development of moderate/severe BPD is multifactorial in preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 weeks, and there are different risk factors in different gestational age groups. Targeted preventive measures for preterm infants of different gestational ages may be useful to reduce the severity of BPD.