Objective. None of the 20 previously reported infants weighing <750 g at bi
rth who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the delivery room (
DR) survived. To clarify whether such resuscitation is futile in our center
, we evaluated our experience with DR-CPR over a 4-year period.
Study Design. We retrospectively reviewed the outcomes of all inborn infant
s with birth weights <1000 g at University of California, San Diego Medical
Center from January 1993 to December 1996. Surviving infants and matched c
ontrol infants were followed for less than or equal to 40 months' adjusted
age using standardized neurodevelopmental assessments.
Results. Of the infants with birth weight <1000 g born during this period,
29% (51/177) died, including 44% of those <750 g and 16% of those greater t
han or equal to 750 g. Overall, 19 infants received DR-CPR, of whom 12 were
<750 g. Of the infants who received DR-CPR, 79% (15/19) survived, includin
g 10 of 13 infants <750 g and 5 of 6 infants greater than or equal to 750 g
. Of the 15 survivors, 10 were followed beyond 10 months' adjusted age (med
ian: 28 months). At last examination, 70% were both neurologically and deve
lopmentally normal. Two infants had cerebral palsy with mild cognitive and
severe motor developmental delay. Of 7 infants with birth weight <750 g, 6
had normal neurodevelopmental outcomes. The mean composite mental and motor
scores of DR-CPR survivors were 93 +/- 10 and 89 +/- 25, respectively. No
differences were found in neurologic or developmental outcome between DR-CP
R survivors and control infants matched for gestational age, sex, and year
of birth.
Conclusions. Our results indicate that intact survival is possible for infa
nts weighing <750 g at birth after DR-CPR.