Morbidities and rehospitalizations during the first year of life in moderate and late preterm infants: more similarities than differences?

AIM To compare neonatal morbidities in moderate and late preterm infants and to analyze rates and causes for rehospitalizations during the first year of life. METHODS Prospective follow-up of a group of moderate and late preterm infants at a tertiary care hospital. RESULTS The study population comprised 215 infants (58% males; 60% singletons; 99 moderate and 116 late preterm infants) with a median gestational age of 34 weeks and birth weight of 2100 grams; 20% of them were small for gestational age. Moderate preterm infants more often had a diagnosis of mild respiratory distress syndrome (26% vs. 13%, p<0.01) and feeding problems with longer need for nasogastric tube feeding (median 9.5 vs 4.2 days, p<0.01) and parenteral nutrition (3.5 vs. 2.7 days, p<0.01), and longer duration of stay at either NICU (10.6 vs. 3.7 days; p<0.01) or hospital (13 vs. 11 days; p<0.01). Fifty-two infants (24.3%) were hospitalized at 67 occasions without differences regarding readmission rates and causes between groups. Median age at readmission was 3 months, median stay 4 days. The most common diagnosis was respiratory illness (43.3%). CONCLUSIONS Moderate preterm infants had more neonatal morbidities diagnosed, but the same rehospitalization rates than late preterm infants.