Scope and Impact of Early and Late Preterm Infants Admitted to the PICU with Respiratory Illness

• Published in: The Journal of pediatrics Vol. 157; no. 2; pp. 209 - 214.e1
• Main Authors: Gunville, Cameron F., DO, Sontag, Marci K., PhD, Stratton, Kristin A., MD, Ranade, Daksha J., MPH, Abman, Steven H., MD, Mourani, Peter M., MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Maryland Heights, MO Mosby, Inc 01.08.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - diagnosis; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - economics; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - epidemiology; Chronic Disease; Female; General aspects; Hospitalization - economics; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; Intensive Care, Neonatal; Lung Diseases - diagnosis; Lung Diseases - economics; Lung Diseases - epidemiology; Male; Medical sciences; Multivariate Analysis; Pediatrics; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections - diagnosis; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections - economics; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections - epidemiology; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses - metabolism; Retrospective Studies; Time Factors; EPT; NICU; Early preterm; Late preterm; Chronic lung disease; FT; PICU; LOS; LPT; Respiratory syncytial virus; Pediatric intensive care unit; RSV; Neonatal intensive care unit; BPD; Full term; Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; CLD; Length of stay; Human; Premature; Pediatrics; Late; Respiratory disease; Infant; Gestational age; Intensive care unit; Newborn diseases; Newborn; Prematurity; Early; Developmental stage
• ISSN: 0022-3476; 1097-6833
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2010.02.006

Objective To determine the clinical course and outcomes of children born early preterm (EPT, <32 weeks), late preterm (LPT, 32 to 35 weeks), and full term (FT, ≥36 weeks) who were subsequently admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with respiratory illness. Study design Retrospective chart review of patients <2 years old admitted to a tertiary PICU with respiratory illness. Results Two hundred seventy-one patients met inclusion criteria: 17.3% were EPT, 12.2% were LPT, and 70.5% were FT. Lower respiratory tract infection was the most common diagnosis (55%) for all groups. Median PICU length of stay was longer for EPT (6.3 days) and LPT infants (7.1 days) compared with FT infants (3.7 days; P < .03 for both comparisons). EPT and LPT infants had longer hospital stays (median, 11.7 and 13.8 days, respectively) compared with FT infants (median, 7.1 days; P < .03 and P = .004, respectively). Median hospital charges were also greater for EPT ($85 151) and LPT ($83 576) groups compared with FT group ($55 122; P < .01 and P  < .02, respectively). Conclusions EPT and LPT infants comprise a considerable proportion of PICU admissions for respiratory illness and have greater resource utilization than FT infants.