Medical Student University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Background: Early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR; weight < 10th percentile before 32 weeks gestation) is associated with increased perinatal mortality and morbidity. In addition to increased mortality, complications of prematurity including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) have been reported to be increased. The extent to which these adverse sequelae are exacerbated by early-onset FGR remains uncertain. Objective: To describe the difference in mortality and complications of prematurity in preterm infants with birthweight (BW) < 10th percentile, compared to their matched appropriate for gestational age (AGA) controls. Design/Methods: This retrospective case-control study examined outcomes in infants born less than 28 weeks’ gestation and/or with BW < 1000g, admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a single large Canadian hospital from 2018 to 2023. The study has IRB approval and we have completed data abstraction for our total cohort of 100 and anticipate statistical analysis to be complete by Dec 2023. Characteristics related to patient demographics (gestational age at birth, sex, birth weight), antenatal IUGR/SGA status, and NICU course will be described among the overall cohort. Specifically, we will examine differences in rates of neonatal demise and complications including bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, patent ductus arteriosus and sepsis using frequencies and percentages. Continuous variables including length of stay, time to full enteral feeds, and duration of invasive ventilation or supplemental oxygen will be described using measures of central tendency (i.e. means and medians). Between-group differences will be assessed using Student’s t-tests and Chi-square tests.
