Perinatal characteristics and parents' perspective of health status of NICU graduates born at term.
OBJECTIVE
Long-term outcomes of preterm infants have been extensively studied, but few studies have examined long-term outcomes of term infants who require neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our objectives were to assess perinatal characteristics and health status of preschool age term babies using data from a population-based study of NICU graduates.


METHODS
Retrospective cross-sectional survey. All babies were born in 1996 to 1997 in BC (Canada). The Health Status Classification System Preschool (HSCS-PS) questionnaire was completed by parents at 42 months of age. HSCS-PS was grouped in four categories (neurosensory, learning, motor and quality of life). Logistic regression was used to identify perinatal risk factors associated with moderate/severe problems at 42 months of age.


RESULTS
Completed surveys were received for 261 term NICU survivors and 393 control children. Term infants represent 32% of all NICU admissions. Mean birth weight of NICU graduates was 3458 g (s.d.=600 g). Median length-of-stay in NICU was 5 days. At 42 months, the NICU group had significantly more problems on the HSCS-PS as compared to the full-term healthy infants in neurosensory, motor and learning/remembering. Moderate/severe health status problems were associated with congenital anomalies (odds ratio (OR), 3.2; confidence interval (CI): 1.3 to 7.8); smoking status (OR, 2.7, CI: 1.1 to 6.6) and SNAP score (OR, 1.04; CI: 1.0 to 1.1).


CONCLUSIONS
Term babies admitted to NICUs may have significant health issues in childhood. Greater attention needs to be paid to long-term outcomes of term NICU graduates. Further study is warranted to address which NICU term survivors warrant secondary and/or tertiary-level neurodevelopmental follow-up.
Schiariti
V
V
Department of Pediatrics, Sunny Hill Health Centre, British Columbia Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. vschiariti@cw.bc.ca
Klassen
A F
AF
Houbé
J S
JS
Synnes
A
A
Lisonkova
S
S
Lee
S K
SK
D001294:Attitude to Health; D001724:Birth Weight; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001955:British Columbia; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017741:Survivors; D016896:Treatment Outcome