Medications and in-hospital outcomes in infants born at 22-24 weeks of gestation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the most commonly used medications and in-hospital morbidities and mortality in infants born 22-24 weeks of gestation.

STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective cohort study of infants born 22-24 weeks of gestation (2006-2016), without major congenital anomalies and with available medication data obtained from neonatal intensive care units managed by the Pediatrix Medical Group.

RESULTS: This study included 7578 infants from 195 sites. Median (25th, 75th percentile): birthweight was 610 g (540, 680); the number of distinct medications used was 13 (8, 18); and different antimicrobial exposure was 4 (2, 5). The most common morbidities were BPD (41%) and grade III or IV IVH (20%), and overall survival varied from 46% (2006) to 57% (2016).

CONCLUSIONS: A large number of medications were used in periviable infants. There was a high prevalence of in-hospital morbidities, and survival of this population increased over the study period.