Small for gestational age and extremely low birth weight infant outcomes

Background: Small for gestational age (SGA) infants are less likely to develop respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), but more likely to develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and have a higher mortality. Our aim was to focus on outcomes of those with a birth weight less than or equal to 750 g. Methods: The mortality, BPD severity, necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), home oxygen requirement and length of hospital stay were determined according to SGA status of all eligible infants in a 5-year period admitted within the first 24 h after birth. Results: The outcomes of 84 infants were assessed, and 35 (42%) were SGA. The SGA infants were more mature (P < 0.001), had a lower birth weight centile (P < 0.001) and a greater proportion exposed to antenatal corticosteroids (P=0.022). Adjusted for gestational age (GA), there was no significant difference in mortality between the two groups (P=0.242), but a greater proportion of the SGA infants developed severe BPD (P= 0.025). The SGA infants had a lower weight z-score at discharge (-3.64 vs. 1.66) (P=0.001), but a decrease in z-score from birth to discharge was observed in both groups (median -1.53 vs. 1.07, P= 0.256). Conclusion: Despite being more mature, the SGA infants had a similar mortality rate and a greater proportion developed severe BPD.