Biomedical Research

Objective: To evaluate the influence of comprehensive management after discharge upon the short-term prognosis of very preterm infants diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Methods: Very preterm infants surviving ≥ 28 d, admitted to NICU of the First Hospital Affiliated of Sun Yat-sen University between January 2013 and October 2014 were selected in this investigation. All infants were assigned into BPD and non-BPD groups. After hospital discharge, standard follow-up and early intervention were delivered. Physical signs, nervous system development and the incidence of respiratory tract symptoms were statistically compared between two groups.

Results: A total of 76 very preterm infants were eligible for inclusion including 39 (51.3%) infants with BPD and 37 (48.7%) non-BPD. No death, blindness or brain paralysis was noted in either group. The body weight, length and percentage of catch-up growth at corrected age of 3-, 6- and 12-month did not significantly differ between the BPD and non-BPD groups (P ≥ 0.05). The frequency of pneumonia complication, asthma episode and readmission in the BPD group was significantly higher compared with that in the non-BPD group (all P<0.05).

Conclusion: Comprehensive management after discharge can enhance the short-term prognosis of very preterm infants complicated with BPD, accelerate catch-up growth and decrease the risk of poor prognosis of nervous system disorders, whereas fail to reduce the incidence of respiratory tract symptoms.

Author(s): Wang-Kai Liu, Mei-Mei Feng, Xiao-Yu Li, Mu-Xue Yu, Si-Qi Zhuang, Yi-Juan Li
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