PEDIATRICS Vol. 69 No. 5 May 1982, pp. 621-625
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cohen, R. S.
Right arrow Articles by Sunshine, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cohen, R. S.
Right arrow Articles by Sunshine, P.

Favorable Results of Neonatal Intensive Care for Very Low-Birth-Weight Infants

Ronald S. Cohen MD1, David K. Stevenson MD1, Natalie Malachowski 1, Ronald L. Ariagno MD1, Keith J. Kimble MD1, Andrew O. Hopper MD1, John D. Johnson MD1, Kent Ueland MD1, and Philip Sunshine MD1

1 Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

From 1961 to 1976, 229 infants with birth weights ranging from 751 to 1,000 gm were admitted to the Stanford University Hospital Intensive Care Nursery. The overall neonatal mortality for these infants was 63% (144/229), and there were ten late deaths. Before 1967, no infant in this group who required mechanical ventilation survived; therafter, 30% (34/114) of the ventilated patients survived. Of the 75 long-term survivors 60 participated in a high-risk infant follow-up program; these included 23 infants who had received mechanical ventilation. The mean birth weight of these infants was 928 ± 67 (SD) gm. Seventeen children (28%) had significant morbidity: seven (12%) with severe handicaps and ten (17%) with moderate handicaps. During this same period, seven infants weighing less than 750 gm at birth were also observed. The three infants who had not required ventilatory support thrived; the other four infants had required respirators and were significantly handicapped. More recently, neonatal mortality for infants with birth weights from 751 to 1,000 gm has improved: for 1977 to 1980, it was 28% (33/118). Furthermore, neonatal mortality for ventilated infants in this weight group was 27% (26/95). These data indicate an improved prognosis for very low-birth-weight infants, even with ventilatory support.

Submitted on July 28, 1981
Accepted on December 3, 1981