Risk factors for respiratory distress syndrome in the newborn: A multicenter Italian survey

Risk factors for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in the newborn have been evaluated using data from a large survey conducted between 1980 and 1989 in selected periods in eleven perinatal units placed in five Italianregions A total of 1624 liveborn infants consecutively delivered at the collaborating centers, at delivery 26–37 weeks gestational age and without clinically evident congenital anomalies were included in the survey. All the newborns were followed up to the 28th day of life. A total of 131 newborns (7.8%) developed RDS. Overall 1 st-7th and 1 st-28th day of life infant mortality rates were 54.8 and 61.6/1,000 livebirths; the corresponding rates in babies who developed RDS were 419.8 and 465.6/1,000 livebirths. The frequency of RDS was higher in males than in females and the corresponding relative risk, RR, was 0.7, with 95% confidence interval, CI, ranging from 0.5 to 0.9. The risk of RDS markedly increased with decreasing birth weight: compared to babies weighing more than 2500 g at birth t...