Table 1.
Perinatal characteristics of births between 22 and 26 weeks’ gestation in 2006 and survival to discharge from hospital. Figures are numbers (percentages, as shown), unless stated otherwise
| Gestational age (weeks) | P value* | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 22-26 | ||
| Births (including all stillbirths) | |||||||
| Total | 478 | 594 | 636 | 692 | 733 | 3133 | — |
| Antepartum stillbirths | 158 | 153 | 133 | 140 | 131 | 715 | — |
| Alive at onset of labour† (% total births) | 272 (57) | 416 (70) | 494 (78) | 550 (80) | 594 (81) | 2326 (74) | — |
| Intrapartum stillbirths | 120 | 77 | 52 | 29 | 14 | 292 | — |
| Time of intrauterine death unknown | 48 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 92 | — |
| Live births | |||||||
| Total (% alive at onset of labour) | 152 (56) | 339 (81) | 442 (89) | 521 (95) | 580 (98) | 2034 (87) | <0.001 |
| Birth in hospital with designated tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (% live births) | 69 (45) | 163 (48) | 254 (58) | 343 (66) | 350 (60%) | 1179 (58%) | <0.001 |
| Active stabilisation withheld (% live births) | 111/152 (73) | 55/338 (16) | 16/441 (4) | 4/520 (1) | 3/574 (1) | 189/2031 (9) | <0.001 |
| Admissions for palliative care | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | — |
| Admissions for intensive care | |||||||
| Total (% live births) | 19 (13) | 217 (64) | 381 (86) | 498 (96) | 571 (98) | 1686 (83) | <0.001 |
| Any antenatal steroid (% of admissions) | 8 (42) | 140 (65) | 326 (86) | 437 (88) | 486 (86) | 1397 (83) | <0.001 |
| Caesarean section (% of admissions) | 1 (5) | 12 (6) | 55 (14) | 153 (31) | 250 (44) | 471 (28) | <0.001 |
| Median (IQR) birth weight (g)‡ | 540 (509-574) | 600 (548-649) | 671 (610-730) | 779 (699-850) | 879 (787-970) | 750 (639-870) | <0.001 |
| Surfactant given at any time (% admissions ) | 18/19 (95) | 215/217 (99) | 379/381 (81) | 490/498 (98) | 567/571 (99) | 1669/1686 (99) | 0.66 |
| Admission temperature <35°C (% admissions) | 5/16 (31) | 60/206 (29) | 64/374 (17) | 58/495 (12) | 37/562 (7) | 224/1653 (14) | <0.001 |
| Total transferred§ within 24 hours (% admissions) | 3/19 (16) | 53/217 (24) | 84/381 (22) | 85/498 (17) | 74/571 (13) | 299/1686 (18) | <0.001 |
| Survival to 28 days | |||||||
| Total | 5 | 88 | 226 | 378 | 472 | 1169 | — |
| % of live births (95% CI) | 3 (1 to 8) | 26 (21 to 31) | 51 (46 to 56) | 73 (68 to 76) | 81 (78 to 85) | 57 (55 to 60) | <0.001 |
| % of admissions (95% CI) | 26 (9 to 51) | 41 (34 to 47) | 59 (54 to 64) | 76 (72 to 80) | 83 (79 to 86) | 69 (67 to 72) | <0.001 |
| Survival to discharge | |||||||
| Total | 3 | 66 | 178 | 346 | 448 | 1041 | — |
| % of live births (95% CI) | 2 (0 to 6) | 19 (15 to 24) | 40 (36 to 45) | 66 (62 to 71) | 77 (73 to 81) | 51 (49 to 53) | <0.001 |
| % of admissions (95% CI) | 16 (3 to 40) | 30 (24 to 37) | 47 (41 to 52) | 69 (65 to 74) | 78 (75 to 82) | 62 (59 to 64) | <0.001 |
| Median age (days) at discharge (IQR) | 124 (119-252 ) | 134 (115-171 ) | 116 (98-141 ) | 102 (87-1221 ) | 91 (80-113 ) | 102 (86-113 ) | <0.001 |
IQR=interquartile range.
*P value for association of gestational age using either logistic regression or regression with gestational age in days.
†Includes all births by caesarean section when fetus was known to be alive at beginning of procedure.
‡Missing for one baby born at 23 weeks’ gestation. Birth weights for subgroups of live births and admissions by multiple birth, sex, and gestational age are given as appendix 2 (live births) and 3 (admissions).
§Transferred to another hospital for ongoing care within 24 hours of birth.