Late prematurity: a systematic review,

• Autor(a) principal: Machado,Luís Carlos
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Passini Júnior,Renato, Rosa,Izilda Rodrigues Machado
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Jornal de Pediatria (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0021-75572014000300221
• topic: Preterm labor; Early neonatal mortality; Neonatal mortality; Infant mortality; High-risk pregnancy

OBJECTIVE:this study aimed to review the literature regarding late preterm births (34 weeks to 36 weeks and 6 days of gestation) in its several aspects.SOURCES:the MEDLINE, LILACS, and Cochrane Library databases were searched, and the references of the articles retrieved were also used, with no limit of time.DATA SYNTHESIS: numerous studies showed a recent increase in late preterm births. In all series, late preterm comprised the majority of preterm births. Studies including millions of births showed a strong association between late preterm birth and neonatal mortality. A higher mortality in childhood and among young adults was also observed. Many studies found an association with several neonatal complications, and also with long-term disorders and sequelae: breastfeeding problems, cerebral palsy, asthma in childhood, poor school performance, schizophrenia, and young adult diabetes. Some authors propose strategies to reduce late preterm birth, or to improve neonatal outcome: use of antenatal corticosteroids, changes in some of the guidelines for early delivery in high-risk pregnancies, and changes in neonatal care for this group.CONCLUSIONS:numerous studies show greater mortality and morbidity in late preterm infants compared with term infants, in addition to long-term disorders. More recent studies evaluated strategies to improve the outcomes of these neonates. Further studies on these strategies are needed.