WIP 63 - Association between transient tachypnea of newborns and wheezing syndrome/asthma in the first three years of life.

Poster Number: WIP 63
Publication Number: WIP 63.781

Background: Transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) is believed to be a temporary condition that usually resolves within a few days. However, some studies suggest it may be linked to wheezing syndrome/asthma later in life.

Objective: The primary endpoint is to determine if TTN is associated with wheezing syndrome/asthma in predominantly African-American children from an underserved community after correcting for known risk factors for TTN (maternal diabetes/obesity/asthma/C-section). Secondarily, this study investigates if antibiotic use in those with TTN is associated with the severity of subjects' wheezing/asthma episodes during their first three years of life.

Design/Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort analysis investigating all infants born at term in our institution between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2017. We considered those who were admitted to the NICU with TTN (cases), as well as the healthy-term ones present in our nursery (controls), and followed in our clinic three years after birth. To be included, the babies had to be diagnosed with TTN, have chest X-ray findings of TTN, and tachypnea at birth. They must also have been born healthy during the same period. The severity of TTN was assessed based on the duration of the event and the respiratory support needed (CPAP/HFNC/nasal cannula) or not. We excluded any other causes of tachypnea in newborns, such as pneumonia, aspiration syndromes, pulmonary hemorrhage, atelectasis, respiratory distress syndrome, pneumothorax, major congenital malformations, surfactant administration, CNS insult, or consolidations on chest X-ray. The independent variables considered were race, gender, family history of asthma, smoking exposure, third-trimester antibiotic, mode of delivery, parity, TTN, TTN severity, and neonatal antibiotic. The primary outcomes measured were asthma, bronchiolitis, bronchitis, wheezing, reactive airway disease, and their severity. We used relative risk regression analyses to adjust for potentially confounding variables and assessed the association between TTN and wheezing syndrome/asthma.