Table 1.
Patients characteristics
| Intervention group (N=24) | Standard management (N=21) | P value* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gestational age, mean (SD), weeks | 340/7 (1.4) | 336/7 (1.5) | 0.99 |
| 32 weeks | 7 | 8 | |
| 33 weeks | 4 | 3 | |
| 34 weeks | 7 | 5 | |
| 35 weeks | 3 | 2 | |
| 36 weeks | 3 | 3 | |
| Birthweight, mean (SD), grams | 2157 (487) | 2277 (658) | 0.56 |
| Apgar score† | |||
| 1 min | 8.0 (5.5–9.0) | 6.0 (5.0–8.0) | 0.48 |
| 5 min | 9.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 0.13 |
| Males (%) | 10 (42%) | 15 (71%) | 0.07 |
| Multiple births (%) | 3 (13%) | 6 (29%) | 0.19 |
| Antenatal steroids (%) | 16 (67%) | 11 (52%) | 0.37 |
| Caesarean section (%) | 18 (75%) | 18 (86%) | 0.38 |
| Outborn (%) | 4 (17%) | 6 (29%) | 0.48 |
| Age at oxygen initiation, hours† | 1.9 (1.2–4.3) | 0.5 (0.2–3.1) | 0.06 |
| Blood pH before surfactant† | 7.28 (7.24–7.29) | 7.23 (7.20–7.30) | 0.15 |
| pCO2 before surfactant† | 57 (52–60) | 63 (48–68) | 0.16 |
pCO 2 Partial pressure of carbon dioxide; SD Standard deviation.*Based on an exact Pearson chi-square test or Wilcoxon Mann–Whitney test. †Results presented as median with interquartile range.