Maternal age and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants < 29 weeks gestational age.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to assess the impact of maternal age on neurodevelopmental (ND) outcomes of infants < 29 weeks gestational age (GA) at 18-24 months. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study of preterm infants < 29 weeks GA admitted to Canadian tertiary NICUs was performed. The primary outcome was a composite of death or ND impairment (NDI)/significant NDI (sNDI) at 18-24 months. Association between maternal age and outcome was assessed across maternal age groups (15-19, 20-34, 35-39 and ≥40 years) using logistic regression after adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: Of 3691 eligible infants, 2652 with complete data were included in the analysis. Significant differences in maternal characteristics existed across age groups. The only difference in neonatal characteristics was the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (p < 0.01). There was no association between maternal age and death or NDI/sNDI after controlling for confounders. CONCLUSION: Maternal age is not associated with differences in NDI/sNDI rates among Canadian preterm infants < 29 weeks GA.

Impact of Ethnicity on Donor Search Results for Children Requiring Stem Cell Transplantation.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can be curative for children with various malignant and nonmalignant conditions. Access to suitable unrelated living donors (ULDs) or unrelated cord blood (UCB) may be limited for certain ethnic backgrounds. We therefore determined the impact of ethnicity upon donor availability in a pediatric cohort referred for allogeneic HSCT to a single Canadian transplant center. Among 252 eligible patients, 58 (23.0%) had suitable family donors. Of 161 patients with combined ULD and UCB searches, 78 (48.4%) had a suitable ULD, whereas 143 (88.8%) had suitable UCB. The probability of finding a suitable ULD differed significantly by ethnicity (P=0.007). Non-white patients were significantly less likely to have suitable ULDs (odds ratio [OR] 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.69; P=0.003) compared with white patients but were equally likely to have suitable UCB (OR 1.02; 95% CI, 0.36-2.89; P=0.97). Although ethnic disparities exist in pediatric patients' access to ULD for HSCT, they are narrowed by the availability of international UCB registries. These findings, however, also highlight the importance of continued recruitment of individuals of non-white ethnicities to donor registries.