Objective: We aimed to analyze the perinatal care of very-preterm infants (VPIs) in plateau areas of China and to explore any differences in short-term outcomes between ethnic minorities and Han nationality.
Methods: VPIs with gestational age (GA) <32 weeks admitted to Qinghai Red Cross Hospital from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020 were enrolled. Maternal information, neonatal information, perinatal care and discharge outcomes were retrospectively collected and analyzed.
Results: A total of 302 VPIs were examined, including 143 (47.4%) ethnic minority infants and 159 (52.6%) Han infants. Mothers of ethnic minority infants were significantly younger than those of Han infants (27 y vs. 30 y, p < .001). There were no differences in the incidence of assisted reproduction, multiple pregnancies, maternal hypertension, clinical chorioamnionitis or premature rupture of membranes >18 h between ethnic minority mothers and Han mothers. Lower proportions of cesarean section and incidence of maternal diabetes were observed in ethnic minority mothers than in Han mothers [(9.1 vs.17.6%, p < .05) and (42.7 vs. 57.9%, p < .05, respectively)]. Meanwhile, fewer antenatal steroids were used in minority group than Han group (65.7 vs. 81.1%, p < .05). No significant differences in rates of death, active treatment, necrotizing enterocolitis stage ≥2, moderate-to-severe BPD, and incidence of severe retinopathy of prematurity in VPIs were found between the two groups and in all GA subgroups. Severe neurological injury was significantly less common in the minority newborns than in the Han infants (1.2 vs. 6.1%, p < .05). Compared with Han group, no excess risk of death, death or major morbidity, death despite active treatment, death or major morbidity despite active treatment was observed in ethnic minorities, with or without adjusting for gestational age and prenatal steroids.
Conclusions: Short-term prognosis of VPIs of ethnic minorities were similar to those of Han nationality.
Keywords: China; Preterm; ethnic minorities; infants; prognosis.