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. 2023 Aug 1;208(3):290-300.
doi: 10.1164/rccm.202212-2291OC.

Impact of Early Hemodynamic Screening on Extremely Preterm Outcomes in a High-Performance Center

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Impact of Early Hemodynamic Screening on Extremely Preterm Outcomes in a High-Performance Center

Regan E Giesinger et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. .

Abstract

Rationale: Increasing survival of extremely preterm infants with a stable rate of severe intraventricular hemorrhage represents a growing health risk for neonates. Objectives: To evaluate the role of early hemodynamic screening (HS) on the risk of death or severe intraventricular hemorrhage. Methods: All eligible patients 22-26+6 weeks' gestation born and/or admitted <24 hours postnatal age were included. As compared with standard neonatal care for control subjects (January 2010-December 2017), patients admitted in the second epoch (October 2018-April 2022) were exposed to HS using targeted neonatal echocardiography at 12-18 hours. Measurements and Main Results: A primary composite outcome of death or severe intraventricular hemorrhage was decided a priori using a 10% reduction in baseline rate to calculate sample size. A total of 423 control subjects and 191 screening patients were recruited with a mean gestation and birth weight of 24.7 ± 1.5 weeks and 699 ± 191 g, respectively. Infants born at 22-23 weeks represented 41% (n = 78) of the HS epoch versus 32% (n = 137) of the control subjects (P = 0.004). An increase in perinatal optimization (e.g., antepartum steroids) but with a decline in maternal health (e.g., increased obesity) was seen in the HS versus control epoch. A reduction in the primary outcome and each of severe intraventricular hemorrhage, death, death in the first postnatal week, necrotizing enterocolitis, and severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia was seen in the screening era. After adjustment for perinatal confounders and time, screening was independently associated with survival free of severe intraventricular hemorrhage (OR 2.09, 95% CI [1.19, 3.66]). Conclusions: Early HS and physiology-guided care may be an avenue to further improve neonatal outcomes; further evaluation is warranted.

Keywords: bronchopulmonary dysplasia; extremely preterm infant; intraventricular hemorrhage; necrotizing enterocolitis; targeted neonatal echocardiography.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Management algorithm after screening targeted neonatal echocardiogram. Treatment is based on the underlying pathophysiology identified on the screening evaluation. GA = gestational age; HRF = hypoxemic respiratory failure; iNO = inhaled nitric oxide; IV = intravenous; LV = left ventricular; PDA = patent ductus arteriosus; PH = pulmonary hypertension; ppm = parts per million; PVR = pulmonary vascular resistance; Q6H = every 6 hours; RV = right ventricular; TnECHO = targeted neonatal echocardiography.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Patient flow diagram. Three of the patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) underwent screening but were excluded post hoc because of findings of aortic coarctation and two large ventricular septal defects. The remaining three patients with CHD were known antenatally and were therefore not screened.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Temporal changes in risk of death or severe intraventricular hemorrhage before and after introduction of hemodynamic screening. HS = hemodynamic screening; IVH = intraventricular hemorrhage; OR = odds ratio.

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