Infant and maternal characteristics of infants born at <34 weeks’ gestational age and cared for in a neonatal unit in Malaysia and one in the UK
| Variables | Infants in the malaysian unit, n=50 | Infants in the UK unit, n=50 | P value |
| Female, n (%) | 21 (42) | 22 (44) | 0.84 |
| Gestational age at birth (weeks) median (IQR) | 32 (29 to 32) | 31 (30 to 33) | 0.736 |
| Birth weight (g) mean (SD) | 1448 (458) | 1649 (409) | 0.022 |
| Birth weight-for-age z-score mean (SD) | −0.53 (0.93) | −0.10 (0.70) | 0.009 |
| Small for gestational age, n (%) | 12 (24) | 3 (6) | 0.012 |
| HC at birth (cm), mean (SD) | 28 (2.68) | 28.9 (2.35) | 0.106 |
| HC-for-age z-score at birth, median (IQR) | −0.26 (−0.98 to 0.59) | 0.06 (−0.57 to 0.59) | 0.310 |
| Length at birth (cm) mean (SD) | 38.4 (3.65) | 41.9 (4.08) | <0.001 |
| Length at birth-for-age z-score mean (SD) | −0.92 (1.05) | 0.21 (1.23) | <0.001 |
| Singleton birth, n (%) | 45 (90) | 34 (68) | 0.007 |
| Mother’s age (years) mean (SD) | 32 (5) | 29 (5) | 0.009 |
| Parity, median (IQR) | 3 (1–4) | 0 (0–1) | <0.001 |
| Caesarean section, n (%) | 37 (74) | 32 (64) | 0.280 |
| Apgar score at 5 min, median (IQR) | 9 (8–10) | 9 (9–9) | 0.844 |
| Antenatal steroid use, n (%) | 47 (94) | 42 (84) | 0.194 |
| Received positive pressure ventilation, n (%) | 21 (42) | 27 (54) | 0.230 |
| Late onset sepsis (confirmed)*, n (%) | 13 (26) | 4 (8) | <0.001 |
| Necrotising enterocolitis (suspected)*, n (%) | 6 (12) | 3 (6) | 0.243 |
| Intraventricular haemorrhage*, n (%) | 36 (72) | 2 (4) | <0.001 |
| Retinopathy of prematurity*, n (%) | 4 (8) | 1 (2) | 0.181 |
| Periventricular leukomalacia*, n (%) | 7 (14) | 0 | 0.006 |
| Chronic lung disease*, n (%) | 10 (20) | 3 (6) | 0.036 |
| Patent ductus arteriosus*, n (%) | 16 (32) | 6 (12) | 0.014 |
P values for comparisons between the two groups were determined by the Student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and by χ2 or Fisher’s exact tests for categorical variables, as appropriate.
*Diagnoses were noted from clinical records: late onset sepsis (culture proven sepsis after 72 hours of birth); necrotising enterocolitis (based on clinical or radiological features that needed at least 5 days of withheld feeding and antibiotics); retinopathy of prematurity (any stage diagnosed on screening examination); periventricular leukomalacia (any lesion reported on cranial ultrasound); chronic lung disease (infants requiring respiratory support including any supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks’ corrected gestational age) and patent ductus arteriosus (diagnosed on echocardiography).
HC, head circumference.