Risk of hospitalization for common neonatal morbidities in preterm and term infants: assessing the impact of one or more major congenital anomalies

To analyze the impact of ≥1 major congenital anomaly (CA) on risk and hospitalization for common neonatal morbidities. Retrospective infant cohort: 241,033 preterm and 3,446,156 term singletons in the US Premier Healthcare database (2006–2013) with up to 1-year follow-up. Discharge records were searched for ≥1 CA and neonatal morbidities. Five morbidities demonstrated strong increasing rates as GA decreased. RRs in preterm infants with CAs relative to those without CAs were: RDS (2.17, 95% CI 2.14–2.21), sepsis (2.42, 95% CI 2.37–2.46), apnea (2.04, 95% CI 2.01–2.07), infectious diseases (2.37, 95% CI 2.34–2.41), and hyperbilirubinemia (1.25, 95% CI 1.24–1.26). Median length of NICU stay (days) was consistently longer in infants with ≥1 CA relative to infants without CA during each GA period. Preterm infants with ≥1 major CA have increased risk of hospitalization for common morbidities, implying compromised neonatal health regardless of CA type.