Table 3.
Demographic, perinatal and neonatal characteristics of the study population by LCs
| Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3 | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 14 | n = 309 | n = 78 | ||
| Age at hospitalization (≥6 months) | 0 (0.00) | 34 (11.26) | 78 (100.00) | < 0.001 |
| Gestational age, weeks | 38.79 (1.97) | 38.23 (3.02) | 38.23 (2.27) | 0.775 |
| Birth weight, Kg | 3.05 (0.48) | 3.10 (0.60) | 2.97 (0.60) | 0.339 |
| Singleton delivery | 14 (100.00) | 301 (97.41) | 75 (96.15) | 0.678 |
| Type of delivery | 0.534 | |||
| Elective caesarean section | 4 (28.57) | 91 (31.71) | 18 (25.35) | |
| Emergency caesarean section | 2 (14.29) | 29 (10.10) | 12 (16.90) | |
| Vaginal | 8 (57.14) | 167 (58.19) | 41 (57.75) | |
| O2 therapy at birth | 2 (14.29) | 22 (7.12) | 9 (11.54) | 0.314 |
| Resuscitation | 1 (7.14) | 15 (4.85) | 7 (8.97) | 0.366 |
| Surfactant at birth | 0 (0.00) | 3 (0.97) | 1 (1.28) | 0.902 |
| Neonatal hospitalization | 2 (14.29) | 38 (12.30) | 7 (8.97) | 0.685 |
| Mechanical ventilation | 1 (7.14) | 7 (2.27) | 3 (3.85) | 0.441 |
| First-born | 4 (28.57) | 121 (39.16) | 37 (47.44) | 0.271 |
| Number of siblings | 0.93 (0.83) | 0.96 (1.13) | 0.73 (0.91) | 0.256 |
| Number of cohabitants | 3.64 (1.45) | 3.79 (1.26) | 3.55 (1.35) | 0.322 |
| Birth within 3 months of the epidemic season start | 3 (21.43) | 15 (4.85) | 4 (5.13) | 0.028 |
| Breastfeeding (exclusively) | 1 (9.09) | 79 (35.75) | 28 (48.28) | 0.113 |
| Breastfeeding duration, months | 0.21 (0.80) | 0.48 (1.63) | 1.18 (2.04) | 0.004 |
| Palivizumab prophylaxis | 0 (0.00) | 2 (0.64) | 0 (0.00) | – |
| Hypertonic saline | 1 (7.14) | 5 (1.62) | 0 (0.00) | 0.120 |
| Inhaled bronchodilators | 6 (42.86) | 157 (50.81) | 46 (58.97) | 0.339 |
| Inhaled corticosteroids | 9 (64.29) | 233 (75.40) | 66 (84.62) | 0.120 |
| Systemic corticosteroids | 12 (85.71) | 282 (91.26) | 55 (70.51) | < 0.001 |
| Systemic antibiotics | 7 (50.00) | 203 (65.70) | 63 (80.77) | 0.013 |
| Low-flow oxygen therapy | 6 (42.86) | 144 (46.60) | 24 (30.77) | 0.042 |
| Length of hospital stay | 9.21 (7.93) | 7.75 (18.42) | 5.17 (3.10) | 0.415 |
| Intensive care admission | 2 (14.29) | 38 (12.30) | 7 (8.97) | 0.685 |
Data are presented as n (%) or mean (SD)