The primary goal of perinatal medicine is to reduce death and neurodevelopmental impairment among infants. This study aims to investigate the association between surgery during hospitalization and the risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment in infants with very low birth weight.
This retrospective cohort analysis included a total of 2,186 infants who underwent major surgery, 784 who had minor surgery, and 9,141 who did not undergo surgery. Surgical procedures classified by anesthesia type were considered. The primary outcome of the study was death or neurodevelopmental impairment, along with neurodevelopment impairment among survivors.
The odds ratio (risk-adjusted) of death or neurodevelopmental impairment for all surgery infants (2,970), as compared with those who did not have any surgery, was 1.29. In infants with minor surgery, the odds ratio (risk-adjusted) for death or neurodevelopmental impairment, as compared with those who had no surgery, was 1.52. When compared with infants with no surgery, those who had minor surgery were not at a higher risk. For infants who underwent major surgery, the risk reported was greater than 50%.
The research concluded that very low-birth infants who underwent major surgery were at a 50% higher risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment.
Ref: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/1881247?resultClick=1
