Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of sample
| No dopamine (n=46) |
Dopamine (n=69) |
P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gestational age at birth, mean ± SD, weeks | 25.1 (1.0) | 24.8 (1.3) | 0.13 |
| Birth weight, mean ± SD, grams | 811.9 (230.9) | 780.3 (230.9) | 0.09 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 29 (63) | 43 (62) | 1.0 |
| African-American race, n (%) | 21 (46) | 36 (52) | 0.57 |
| SGA, n (%) | 2 (4) | 5 (7) | 0.7 |
| Antenatal steroids | |||
| None, n (%) | 12 (26) | 26 (38) | 0.23 |
| Complete course, n (%) | 22 (48) | 41 (59) | 0.21 |
| Chorioamnionitisa, n (%) | 18 (39) | 7 (10) | < 0.01* |
| Antenatal magnesium sulfate exposure, n (%) | 20 (43) | 37 (54) | 0.34 |
| Vaginal delivery, n (%) | 18 (39) | 15 (22) | 0.06 |
| Mechanical ventilation at 72h, n (%) | 35 (76) | 59 (85) | 0.22 |
| Fentanyl exposure, n (%) | 17 (37) | 40 (58) | 0.03* |
| PDA requiring treatment, n (%) | 23 (50) | 26 (38) | 0.25 |
| IVH | |||
| All grades, n (%) | 19 (41) | 47 (68) | < 0.01* |
| Grade III-IV, n (%) | 7 (15) | 28 (41) | < 0.01* |
| Died in the neonatal period, n (%) | 4 (9) | 20 (29) | < 0.01* |
| CRIB-II score, median (min-max) | 12 (9–16) | 13 (8–20) | <0.01* |
| Postnatal age at start, mean ± SEM, hours | 17.8 (1.1) | 17.8 (2.1) | 0.89 |
| NS bolus prior to dopamine initiation, n (%) | 0 (0) | 16 (23) | n/a |
| Dopamine infusion dose at start, median (min-max), µg/kg/min | 0 | 2.5 (1–7.5) | n/a |
| Dopamine infusion dose at end, median (min-max), µg/kg/min | 0 | 2.5 (1–10) | n/a |
a
Based on histologic examination of the placenta. Comparisons made using Mann-Whitney U-test for continuous variables or Fisher’s Exact Test (two-sided) for categorical variables.
NS-normal saline.