Isolated single umbilical artery poses neonates at increased risk of long-term respiratory morbidity.

PURPOSE

To investigate whether children born with isolated single umbilical artery (iSUA) at term are at an increased risk for long-term pediatric hospitalizations due to respiratory morbidity.

METHODS

Design: a population-based cohort study compared the incidence of long-term, pediatric hospitalizations due to respiratory morbidity in children born with and without iSUA at term.

SETTING

Soroka University Medical Center.

PARTICIPANTS

all singleton pregnancies of women who delivered between 1991 and 2013.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): hospitalization due to respiratory morbidity.

ANALYSES

Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate cumulative incidence of respiratory morbidity. A Cox hazards model analysis was used to establish an independent association between iSUA and pediatric respiratory morbidity of the offspring while controlling for clinically relevant confounders.

RESULTS

The study included 232,281 deliveries. 0.3% were of newborns with iSUA (n = 766). Newborns with iSUA had a significantly higher rate of long-term respiratory morbidity compared to newborns without iSUA (7.6 vs 5.5%, p = 0.01). Using a Kaplan-Meier survival curve, newborns with iSUA had a significantly higher cumulative incidence of respiratory hospitalizations (log rank = 0.006). In the Cox model, while controlling for the maternal age, gestational age, and birthweight, iSUA at term was found to be an independent risk factor for long-term respiratory morbidity (adjusted HR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.08-1.81; p = 0.012).

CONCLUSION

Newborns with iSUA are at an increased risk for long-term respiratory morbidity.