Original ArticleIdentification of Pneumothorax in Very Preterm Infants
Section snippets
Methods
This was a case-control study of preterm infants between 23 and 28 completed weeks’ gestation. Cases had development of a pneumothorax at The Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, between January 1, 2002, and June 30, 2007. The Royal Women’s Hospital is a level III perinatal center with more than 5000 deliveries and 1400 admissions to the intensive care and special care nurseries per year. Infants less than 28 weeks completed gestational age who had a pneumothorax in the time period
Results
Over the 5½-year period, 675 babies were born between 23 and 28 completed weeks’ gestation; 62 (9.2%) infants had a pneumothorax. One (2%) infant was excluded because a matched control subject could not be identified. None had congenital pulmonary malformations. Data from 61 babies with a pneumothorax and 61 control subjects were analyzed.
There were no substantial differences in the baseline maternal and infant characteristics of the infants in the pneumothorax and control groups as shown in
Discussion
During the study period, 62 of 675 (9.2%) infants born at less than 29 weeks gestation had pneumothoraces, which is in keeping with rates of 7% to 12% reported in the United States8, 9 and the United Kingdom.10 The 43% mortality rate in the infants with pneumothoraces compared with 13% in the control subjects highlights the fact that pneumothorax is a serious disease worthy of further investigation and prevention.
The FiO2 data suggest that infants who have a pneumothorax have worse lung disease
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Supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Program Grant 384100). P.D. is supported in part by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Practitioner Fellowship. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.