Introduction: The impact of late preterm birth (LPT), born at 34-0/7 to 36-6/7, on respiratory morbidity beyond the neonatal period is still a subject of controversy. It is currently not yet established whether LPT infants are at increased risks for recurrent severe respiratory illnesses requiring hospitalizations.
Objective: To compare the clinical course and outcomes of children born LPT with full term infants (FT, ≥37 weeks) who were admitted to the pediatric ward with respiratory illness in the first two years of life.
Study design: Records of patients < age 2 years admitted during the year 2012 to the hospital due to a respiratory illness were reviewed.
Results: 486 patients were included; 10.5% were LPT, and 89.5% FT. The two groups were similar regarding demographic and clinical indices on admission (p > 0.1). LPT had significantly increased risk for recurrent hospitalization due to respiratory illnesses in the year following current admission (21% vs. 10.6%, p<0.05, odds ratio = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.06-4.72), adjusted for multiple covariates. A diagnosis of bronchiolitis or asthma was recorded in all readmissions of LPT infants vs. 86% of FT (p<0.05, odds ratio = 27.08, 95% CI = 1.55-474.2).Other major or minor outcomes indices were similar between groups (p > 0.1).
Conclusion: Infants born at late prematurity and hospitalized for a respiratory illness are at increased risk for hospitalizations due to respiratory causes during the first two years of life. Defining the causes of the respiratory morbidity and providing preventive therapy might reduce hospitalization and costs.
