Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) of Preterm Infants born to Mothers with Placenta Previa (PP) 1698

This matched-cohort study was to investigate the role of PP plays in RDS in preterm infants. The medical records of preterm infants (<37 wk) born to mothers with PP were consecutively reviewed. A next infant born to mother without PP and matched for gender and gestational age (GA) was selected as control. Obstetrical and neonatal variables, such as timing and severity of antepartum hemorrhage (APH), cesarean section (CS), neonatal hemoglobin (Hb) values, presence of fetal distress, Apgar scores (AS), incidence and severity of RDS and neonatal mortality were compared between both groups. Between Jan. 1989 and Dec. 1995, fifty-three pairs of preterm infants were enrolled for final analysis. Their mean ±SD birth weight and GA was 2021±624 g and 32.7±3.1 wk, respectively. The severity of RDS was represented as arterial O₂ tension/fraction of inspired O₂(PaO₂/FiO₂) and arterial/alveolar O₂ (a/A) ratios. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the presence of mother with PP increased the adjusted odds ratio of 6.6 (95% CI,1.3-34.2) for RDS in the preterm infants. The incidence of RDS was different in infants with gestational age > 30 wk (P< 0.01). Conclusions: preterm infants born to mothers with placenta previa are susceptible to RDS. The mechanisms warrant further investigation. Table

Table 1 No caption available.