EPICURE 2: ARE LOW ADMISSION RATES AT 23 WEEKS EXPLAINED BY RELUCTANCE TO RESUSCITATE?

Background Outcome for births Objective To study whether low admission rate of 23 w gestation babies is related to reluctance actively to stabilise these babies at birth. Methods The frequency of interventions in relation to gestation was analysed using chi-squared trend analysis. Results Of 23 w gestation babies, 83% were offered active support. Good response, assessed by heart-rate at 5 minutes was associated with increasing GA; there was an inverse relationship between GA and the proportion of deaths. See table. Conclusions These data suggest that reduced admission rates at 23 w are related to less good response to resuscitation in these extremely immature babies and not to systematic reluctance actively to resuscitate.