Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2019 Mar 26;321(12):1188-1199.
doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.2021.

Association Between Year of Birth and 1-Year Survival Among Extremely Preterm Infants in Sweden During 2004-2007 and 2014-2016

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Association Between Year of Birth and 1-Year Survival Among Extremely Preterm Infants in Sweden During 2004-2007 and 2014-2016

Mikael Norman et al. JAMA. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Importance: Since 2004-2007, national guidelines and recommendations have been developed for the management of extremely preterm births in Sweden. If and how more uniform management has affected infant survival is unknown.

Objective: To compare survival of extremely preterm infants born during 2004-2007 with survival of infants born during 2014-2016.

Design, setting and participants: All births at 22-26 weeks' gestational age (n = 2205) between April 1, 2004, and March 31, 2007, and between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2016, in Sweden were studied. Prospective data collection was used during 2004-2007. Data were obtained from the Swedish pregnancy, medical birth, and neonatal quality registries during 2014-2016.

Exposures: Delivery at 22-26 weeks' gestational age.

Main outcomes and measures: The primary outcome was infant survival to the age of 1 year. The secondary outcome was 1-year survival among live-born infants who did not have any major neonatal morbidity (specifically, without intraventricular hemorrhage grade 3-4, cystic periventricular leukomalacia, necrotizing enterocolitis, retinopathy of prematurity stage 3-5, or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia).

Results: During 2004-2007, 1009 births (3.3/1000 of all births) occurred at 22-26 weeks' gestational age compared with 1196 births (3.4/1000 of all births) during 2014-2016 (P = .61). One-year survival among live-born infants at 22-26 weeks' gestational age was significantly lower during 2004-2007 (497 of 705 infants [70%]) than during 2014-2016 (711 of 923 infants [77%]) (difference, -7% [95% CI, -11% to -2.2%], P = .003). One-year survival among live-born infants at 22-26 weeks' gestational age and without any major neonatal morbidity was significantly lower during 2004-2007 (226 of 705 infants [32%]) than during 2014-2016 (355 of 923 infants [38%]) (difference, -6% [95% CI, -11% to -1.7%], P = .008).

Conclusions and relevance: Among live births at 22-26 weeks' gestational age in Sweden, 1-year survival improved between 2004-2007 and 2014-2016.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Norman reported receiving grants from the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation and the H2020/European Union; and receiving personal fees from a Swedish medical journal, the Swedish patient insurance, Liber AB, Studentlitteratur AB, and AbbVie AB. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. One-Year Survival Among Infants Delivered at 22-26 Weeks’ Gestational Age in Sweden
Infants were born between April 1, 2004, and March 31, 2007, in the Extremely Preterm Infants in Sweden Study (EXPRESS) and between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2016, in EXPRESS 2. The observation time was 1 year for all infants during both studies. The vertical ticks at the ends of the lines are 95% CIs. The lines are staggered to avoid superimposition.

Comment in

References

    1. Rysavy MA, Li L, Bell EF, et al. ; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network . Between-hospital variation in treatment and outcomes in extremely preterm infants. N Engl J Med. 2015;372(19):1801-1811. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1410689 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guillén Ú, Weiss EM, Munson D, et al. . Guidelines for the management of extremely premature deliveries: a systematic review. Pediatrics. 2015;136(2):343-350. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-0542 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Janvier A, Baardsnes J, Hebert M, Newell S, Marlow N. Variation of practice and poor outcomes for extremely low gestation births: ordained before birth? Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2017;102(6):F470-F471. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2017-313332 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Backes CH, Söderström F, Ågren J, et al. . Outcomes following a comprehensive versus a selective approach for infants born at 22 weeks of gestation. J Perinatol. 2019;39(1):39-47. doi:10.1038/s41372-018-0248-y - DOI - PubMed
    1. Serenius F, Blennow M, Maršál K, Sjörs G, Källen K; EXPRESS Study Group . Intensity of perinatal care for extremely preterm infants: outcomes at 2.5 years. Pediatrics. 2015;135(5):e1163-e1172. doi:10.1542/peds.2014-2988 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types