Respiratory Disorders and Neonatal Outcome of Triplet Pregnancies: Own Experience

Presenter: M. Lachowska (e-mail: [e-mail])

Introduction: Due to advances in reproductive medicine and the wide use of artificial reproductive technologies (ART) a significant increase in multiple pregnancies has been observed in the past years. The aim of the work was to compare respiratory disorders (respiratory distress syndrome, requirement for respiratory support, and development of chronic lung disease), duration of hospitalization, and other neonatal outcomes between newborns born from triplet pregnancies during the 10-year period of time.

Materials and Methods: The retrospective study population consisted of 34 triplet pregnancies delivered between 2006 and 2015 in one perinatal tertiary center. 99 newborns coming from these pregnancies were divided into 2 groups: group I consisted of 56 neonates (19 sets of triplets) born from 2006 to 2011 and group II contained 43 neonates delivered from 15 triplet pregnancies between 2012 and 2015.

Results: The mean gestation age for group I was 32.5 ± 2 weeks and for group II was 32.7 ± 1.3 (p = 0.7875). There were also no significant differences in birth weight (1,727.3 ± 404.1 g for the group I vs. 1,672.4 ± 271.0 g for the group II, p = 0.342). We didn’t notice any differences in the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and chronic lung disease between the group I and the group II (p = 0.13). In both groups, similar amount of patients required respiratory support (33/56 vs. 30/43, p = 0.266). There were no differences in the type of ventilation (mechanical ventilation and nCPAP). There was also no significant difference in duration of mechanical ventilation, length of hospitalization, and the incidence of complications of prematurity like 3rd or 4th grade of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage > 2 between both groups.

Conclusion: Despite important progress in perinatal care and wide use of advanced technologies in neonatal intensive care there was no significant improvement in neonatal outcome of triplets during the past 10 years. Multiple pregnancies still remain a risk factor of respiratory disorders and other neonatal complications in prematurely delivered newborns.

Keywords: prematurity, triplets, respiratory disorders