Severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Predictors of survival and outcome.

Predictors of survival and outcome were evaluated following severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in 35 neonates, 15 of whom died during the initial hospitalization and four following discharge. There was no difference in the clinical characteristics between those infants who survived or died. The survival rate was 47 percent when the length of stay in the hospital was three months and was 17 percent when the length of stay was five months. The survival rate was 27 percent when the time receiving oxygen was three months. There were no survivors when the time receiving oxygen was longer than five months. Follow-up of 13 survivors revealed that four had neurologic sequelae, and two had severe retrolental fibroplasia. When comparing infants with a mean mental developmental index of less than 84 (n = 8) to those with more than 85 (n = 5) on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, mean length of hospitalization was 125 days vs 72 days (p less than 0.05), and the time receiving oxygen was 84 days vs 46 days (p less than 0.05). When comparing infants with growth parameters below the 5th percentile (n = 4) to those above the 5th percentile (n = 9), the mean time receiving oxygen was 94 days compared to 58 days (p less than 0.05). Severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia is associated with a high mortality and morbidity, both in and beyond the neonatal period.