Stevenson, David K.

ImportanceRedirection of care refers to withdrawal, withholding, or limiting escalation of treatment. Whether maternal social determinants of health are associated with redirection of care discussions merits understanding.ObjectiveTo examine associations between maternal social determinants of health and redirection of care discussions for infants born extremely preterm.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis is a retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort of infants born at less than 29 weeks’ gestation between April 2011 and December 2020 at 19 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network centers in the US. Follow-up occurred between January 2013 and October 2023. Included infants received active treatment at birth and had mothers who identified as Black or White. Race was limited to Black and White based on service disparities between these groups and limited sample size for other races. Maternal social determinant of health exposures were education level (high school nongraduate or graduate), insurance type (public/none or private), race (Black or White), and ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic).Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcome was documented discussion about redirection of infant care. Secondary outcomes included subsequent redirection of care occurrence and, for those born at less than 27 weeks’ gestation, death and neurodevelopmental impairment at 22 to 26 months’ corrected age.ResultsOf the 15 629 infants (mean [SD] gestational age, 26 [2] weeks; 7961 [51%] male) from 13 643 mothers, 2324 (15%) had documented redirection of care discussions. In unadjusted comparisons, there was no significant difference in the percentage of infants with redirection of care discussions by race (Black, 1004/6793 [15%]; White, 1320/8836 [15%]) or ethnicity (Hispanic, 291/2105 [14%]; non-Hispanic, 2020/13 408 [15%]). However, after controlling for maternal and neonatal factors, infants whose mothers identified as Black or as Hispanic were less likely to have documented redirection of care discussions than infants whose mothers identified as White (Black vs White adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.84; 95% CI, 0.75-0.96) or as non-Hispanic (Hispanic vs non-Hispanic aOR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.60-0.87). Redirection of care discussion occurrence did not differ by maternal education level or insurance type.Conclusions and RelevanceFor infants born extremely preterm, redirection of care discussions occurred less often for Black and Hispanic infants than for White and non-Hispanic infants. It is important to explore the possible reasons underlying these differences.

ImportanceLate-onset meningitis (LOM) has been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born extremely preterm.ObjectiveTo report the incidence of LOM during birth hospitalization and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 to 26 months’ corrected age.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cohort study is a secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective cohort of children born at 22 to 26 weeks’ gestation between 2003 and 2017 with follow-up from 2004 to 2021. The study was conducted at 25 Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network centers.ExposuresCulture-confirmed LOM.Main Outcomes and MeasuresIncidence and microbiology of LOM (2003-2017); lumbar puncture (LP) performance in late-onset sepsis (LOS) evaluations (2011-2017); composite outcome of death or neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI; 2004-2021).ResultsAmong 13 372 infants (median [IQR] gestational age, 25.4 [24.4-26.1] weeks; 6864 [51%] boys), LOM was diagnosed in 167 (1%); LOS without LOM in 4564 (34%); and neither LOS nor LOM in 8641 (65%). The observed incidence of LOM decreased from 2% (95% CI, 1%-3%) in 2003 to 0.4% (95% CI, 0.7%-1.0%) in 2017 (P < .001). LP performance in LOS evaluations decreased from 36% (95% CI, 33%-40%) in 2011 to 24% (95% CI, 21%-27%) in 2017 (P < .001). Among infants with culture-confirmed LOS, LP performance decreased from 58% (95% CI, 51%-65%) to 45% (95% CI, 38%-51%; P = .008). LP performance varied by center among all LOS evaluations (10%-59%, P < .001) and among those with culture-confirmed LOS (23%-79%, P < .001). LOM occurred in the absence of concurrent LOS in 27 of 167 cases (16%). The most common LOM isolates were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (98 [59%]), Candida albicans (38 [23%]), and Escherichia coli (27 [16%]). Death or NDI occurred in 22 of 46 children (48%) with LOM due to coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, 43 of 67 (64%) due to all other bacterial pathogens, and 26 of 33 (79%) due to fungal pathogens. The adjusted relative risk of death or NDI was increased among children with LOM (aOR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.04-2.25) and among those with LOS without LOM (aOR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.29-1.54) compared with children with neither infection.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cohort study, LP was performed with decreasing frequency, and the observed incidence of LOM also decreased. Both LOM and LOS were associated with increased risk of death or NDI; risk varied by LOM pathogen. The full association of LOM with outcomes of children born extremely preterm may be underestimated by current diagnostic practices.

Background. Although glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency is prevalent in African Americans, their risk of associated neonatal hyperbilirubinemia has not been prospectively studied.Objective. To compare hemolysis and the risk of hyperbilirubinemia among African American, G-6-PD-deficient neonates (study group) and G-6-PD-normal control subjects.Methods. Consecutive, healthy, term and near-term, male neonates born to African American mothers comprised the patient cohort. G-6-PD testing was performed with umbilical cord blood samples. Routine management included measurement of the end tidal carbon monoxide level corrected for ambient carbon monoxide level (ETCOc) within 4 hours after delivery (assessment of hemolysis), ≥1 predischarge bilirubin determination, and additional bilirubin testing as clinically indicated. Indications for phototherapy were identical for study patients and control subjects. Neonates were monitored for the first 1 week of life. ETCOc results, the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia (defined as a transcutaneous or plasma total bilirubin concentration of ≥95th percentile for the hour of life), and the need for phototherapy were compared between the G-6-PD-deficient and G-6-PD-normal groups.Results. Five hundred male patients were enrolled, of whom 64 (12.8%) were G-6-PD-deficient. ETCOc values (median and interquartile range) were higher among G-6-PD-deficient neonates than among control neonates (2.4 ppm [2.0–2.9 ppm] vs 2.1 ppm [1.7–2.5 ppm]). More G-6-PD-deficient neonates developed hyperbilirubinemia than did control subjects (14 of 64, 21.9%, vs 29 of 436, 6.7%; relative risk: 3.27; 95% confidence interval: 1.83-5.86), whereas 13 (20.3%) met the criteria for phototherapy, compared with 25 control subjects (5.7%) (relative risk: 3.53; 95% confidence interval: 1.91-6.56). No cases of kernicterus were observed.Conclusions. Within the African American neonatal population, there is a subgroup of G-6-PD-deficient infants with elevated rates of hemolysis, a higher incidence of hyperbilirubinemia, and a greater requirement for phototherapy, compared with G-6-PD-normal control subjects. These newborns should be monitored vigilantly for the development of hyperbilirubinemia.