Growth Pattern of Preterm Newborns under 34 Weeks of Gestation in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Tamil Nadu, India: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction: The proportion of preterm babies is increasing now a days and these babies are more prone to short and long term disabilities. Hence, growth monitoring is essential, to identify the premature infants, who are at increased risk of growth lag and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. Aim: To assess the growth pattern of infants, who are born ≤34 weeks of gestational age using the intergrowth-21st growth charts. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Neonatology at Chengalpattu Medical College and Hospital, a Tertiary Care Center Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India. The duration of the study was one year, from January 2020 to December 2020. A total of 118 neonates born at ≤34 weeks gestational age, who were admitted in the hospital and stayed for 14 days and more were included in the study. The data was collected from discharge sheets and an electronic database. Intergrowth-21st growth charts are used to assess growth. Weight, duration of hospital stay and Extrauterine Growth Restriction (EUGR) were assessed for all the newborns. At discharge, the EUGR status of the babies was determined using a weight ≤-1.28 Standard Deviation (SD) criterion. Continuous variables were presented as means with SD. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. Results: The mean maternal and gestational age of the study participants was 24.9±4.14 years and 31.6 ±1.42 weeks and birth weight of babies were 1608.06 gm (±275), respectively. The proportions of Appropriate for gestational age (AGA) and Small For Gestational Age (SGA) were 95 (80.5%) and 18 (15.2%), respectively. The mean time to reach full feeds was 10.4 days (±2.7days), and the duration of stay in the hospital was 24.8 days (±9.6 days). The mean discharge weight and gestational age of babies were 1732 gm (±226 gm) and 35.4 weeks (±1.47 weeks), respectively. The common complications observed, were those requiring antibiotics (73.7%), respiratory support (61.01%), and Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) (22.8%). Conclusion: Preterm newborns are more vulnerable to EUGR. The EUGR proportion in present study was 72.8%. The issues that raise the risk of EUGR, during the hospital stay must be adequately addressed in order to ensure that, preterm neonates develops normally.