Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Crit Care Med. May 9, 2022; 11(3): 160-168
Published online May 9, 2022. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v11.i3.160
Need for oxygen therapy and ventilatory support in premature infants in a hospital in Southern Brazil
Amanda Meier, Kelser de Souza Kock
Amanda Meier, Kelser de Souza Kock, Department of Physiotherapy, University of South of Santa Catarina, Tubarão 88704-001, SC, Brazil
Author contributions: Meier A performed the data collection and wrote the manuscript; Kock KS performed the statistical analysis and revision and editing of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This research project was approved by the Ethics Committee in Human Beings of (University of Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil) UNISUL under the number of the opinion 3.529.438, CAAE: 17573519.2.0000.5369.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The informed consent form was waived because only information from the electronic records was collected and the patients were not hospitalized during the study period.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kelser de Souza Kock, PhD, Physiotherapist, Professor, Department of Physiotherapy, University of South of Santa Catarina, José Acácio Moreira Street-787, Tubarão 88704-001, SC, Brazil. kelserkock@yahoo.com.br
Received: March 5, 2021
Peer-review started: March 5, 2021
First decision: March 31, 2021
Revised: May 19, 2021
Accepted: April 3, 2022
Article in press: April 3, 2022
Published online: May 9, 2022
Processing time: 427 Days and 14.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Prematurity in newborns is a condition that is associated with worse hospital outcomes when compared to birth to term. A preterm infant (PI) is classified when gestational age (GA) < 37 wk.

AIM

To analyze prognostic indicators related to the use of oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilation (continuous positive airway pressure) and mechanical ventilation (MV) in PI.

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort. The sample was composed of PIs from a private hospital in southern Brazil. We included neonates with GA < 37 wk of gestation in the period of January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. For data collection, electronic records were used in the Tasy PhilipsTM system, identifying the variables: maternal age, type of birth, prenatal information, GA, Apgar score, birth weight, neonatal morbidities, vital signs in the 1st hour at birth, need for oxygen therapy, continuous positive airway pressure and MV, hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit, length of stay and discharge or death.

RESULTS

In total, 90 PI records were analyzed. The median (p25-p75) of GA was 34.0 (31.9-35.4) wk, and there were 45 (50%) males. The most common morbidity among PIs was the acute respiratory discomfort syndrome, requiring hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit in 76 (84.4%) cases. The utilization rate of oxygen therapy, continuous positive airway pressure and MV was 12 (13.3%), 37 (41.1%) and 13 (14.4%), respectively. The median (p25-p75) length of stay was 12.0 (5.0-22.2) d, with 10 (11.1%) deaths. A statistical association was observed with the use of MV and GA < 28 wk, lower maternal age, low birth weight, Apgar < 8 and neonatal deaths.

CONCLUSION

The identification of factors related to the need for MV in prematurity may help in the indication of a qualified team and technologies to promptly meet the unforeseen events that may occur after birth.

Keywords: Premature; Continuous positive airway pressure; Artificial respiration; Non-invasive ventilation

Core Tip: This is an observational study evaluating the need for oxygen therapy and ventilatory support in preterm infants. In our analysis, we present the odds ratio of the use of mechanical ventilation when compared to maternal and preterm epidemiological parameters.