No Change in Survival of Youngest Preemies in UK
A study published in the British Medical Journal has shown no improvement in the survival of 22 and 23 week preemies in more than a decade, while there has been significant improvement in the survival of 24 and 25 weekers over the same time period. The study compared preemies born between 22 and 25 weeks in 1994-1999, to those born in the same region between 2000-2005.
While I haven’t been able to access the study itself yet, press releases indicate that the study found a 15% survival rate in 23 weekers, and no survival among 22 weekers during the study period. In both time periods, close to 60% of 22-23 weeks died in the delivery room. Fortunately, the survival to discharge among resuscitated 24-25 weekers increased from 36 to 47% between the two time periods studied, and researchers indicate that there was no significant change in the rate of resuscitation. The study was performed in the Trent health region of the UK, where there are 16 hospitals and over 55,000 births per year. The region is felt to be representative of the United Kingdom as a whole.
The fact that there has been no measurable progress in improving survival among 22 and 23 weekers in over a decade, has been used by some to argue that the limits of viability have been reached. I’m honestly not sure what the most recent US estimates are for survival rates among 22 and 23 week preemies, or how they’ve changed over the past decade. If the statistics were similar, would they change how you feel about the limits of viability in preterm babies?
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