title: Delivery room management of extremely preterm infants: the EPIPAGE-2 study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse the delivery room management of babies born between 22 and 26 weeks of completed gestational age and to identify the factors associated with the withholding or withdrawal of intensive care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our study population comprised 2145 births between 22 and 26 completed weeks enrolled in the EPIPAGE-2 study, a French cohort of very preterm infants born in 2011. The primary outcome measure was withholding or withdrawal of intensive care in the delivery room.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among infants born alive at 22-23 weeks, intensive care was withheld or withdrawn for >90%. At 24 weeks, resuscitative measures were withheld or withdrawn for 38%, at 25 weeks for 8% and at 26 weeks for 3%. Other factors besides gestational age at birth associated with this withholding or withdrawal for infants born at 24-26 weeks were birth weight <600 g, emergency delivery (within 24 h of the mother's admission) and singleton pregnancy. Although rates of withholding or withdrawal of intensive care varied substantially between maternity units (from 0% to 100%), the variability was primarily explained by differences in distributions of gestational age at birth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although gestational age is only one factor predicting survival of preterm infants, practices in France appear to be based primarily on this factor, which thus has direct effects on the survival of extremely preterm infants. The ethical implications of basing life and death decisions only on gestational age before 25 weeks require further examination.
authors.affiliation: Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Team, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center (U1153), INSERM, Paris, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perlbarg
authors.affiliation: Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Team, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center (U1153), INSERM, Paris, France URC-CIC P1419, DHU Risk in Pregnancy, Cochin Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, APHP, Paris, France.
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Ancel
authors.affiliation: Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Team, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center (U1153), INSERM, Paris, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Khoshnood
authors.affiliation: Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Team, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center (U1153), INSERM, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Durox
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, CHI Poissy Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Poissy, France EA 7285, Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boileau
authors.affiliation: Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Team, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center (U1153), INSERM, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garel
authors.affiliation: Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Team, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center (U1153), INSERM, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaminski
authors.affiliation: Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Team, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center (U1153), INSERM, Paris, France Maternité Port-Royal, Paris-Descartes University, Cochin Broca Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, DHU Risk in Pregnancy, Paris, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Goffinet
authors.affiliation: Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Team, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center (U1153), INSERM, Paris, France Service de Néonatologie, Hôpital Armand Trousseau, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Foix-L'Hélias
mesh_terms: D000066491:Clinical Decision-Making; D003696:Delivery Rooms; D005602:France; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D062071:Infant, Extremely Premature; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal; D015996:Survival Rate; D028761:Withholding Treatment
keywords: Epidemiology; Neonatology