Late preterm infant: the forgotten patient
Tania Fernández Lópeza, Gonzalo Ares Mateosb, Iván Carabaño Aguadoc, J Sopeña Corvinosa
aServicio de Pediatría. Hospital Infanta Elena. Valdemoro. Madrid. España.
bServicio de Pediatría. Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos. Móstoles. Madrid. España.
cSección de Gastroenterología, Hepatología y Nutrición Pediátrica. Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre. Madrid. España.
Correspondence: T Fernández. E-mail: taniafer82@yahoo.es
Reference of this article: Fernández López T, Ares Mateos G, Carabaño Aguado I, Sopeña Corvinos J. Late preterm infant: the forgotten patient. Rev Pediatr Aten Primaria. 2012;14:e23-e8.
Published in Internet: 05-10-2012 - Visits: 87075
Abstract
Late preterm infants are born at a gestational age between 34 and 36 weeks and 6 days. These children have higher morbidity than term infants due to their relative physiologic and metabolic immaturity, leading to a longer average birth hospital stay with a higher cost of care. Moreover, the rate of readmission and mortality are also higher than in term infants.
The purpose of this review is to define "late-preterm", describe medical complications and risks that are commonly found in this group of children, present the characteristics of late-preterm infants that predispose them to higher morbidity and mortality and suggest guidelines for assessment and management of these patients after birth.
Keywords
● Late preterm ● Morbidity ● Mortality ● Near term
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