title: Comparison of short-term outcomes of late preterm singletons and multiple births: an institutional experience.
abstract: We compare 4 short-term outcomes--namely admission to special care nursery (SCN), length of stay (LOS), age at full feeds (AFF) and respiratory morbidity/need for ventilation--in 1015 late preterm singletons and 366 twins and triplets born at our institution over a 4-year period. Birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA) rather than plurality of birth determined need for admission to SCN, LOS, AFF, and need for respiratory support. When matched for GA, compared to singletons, twins and triplets needed less admission to SCN and respiratory support at 36 weeks, whereas at 34 weeks, they had longer LOS and took longer to get to full feeds. We conclude that the outcomes of interest are affected by GA and BW rather than plurality.
authors.affiliation: Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. vachharajani@kids.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Akshaya J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Vachharajani
authors.forename: Neeta A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Vachharajani
authors.forename: Jeffrey G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Dawson
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends*; D008297:Male; D009099:Multiple Birth Offspring; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009725:Nurseries, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011336:Probability; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014310:Triplets; D014427:Twins