Introduction:

Acute respiratory infections in children with a history of preterm birth may be more severe due to a delay in growth, maturation, or structural damage to the airways.

Objective:

To determine whether a history of having been premature influences the condition of severity in children younger than 3 years-old with acute respiratory infections.

Material and methods:

Cross-sectional, analytical and prospective study in an emergency department. Children < 3 years of age attended by acute respiratory infections were included. Gestation weeks of (WG) at birth were investigated and classified into four groups (term, preterm-late [34-36 WG], preterm-moderate [28-33 WG] and preterm-end [< 28 WG]). The severity of the acute respiratory infection episode was assessed by the Silverman-Anderson scale and the hospitalization requirement (intensive ward or ward).

Results:

295 patients were included, 228 had a history of term birth (77%), the rest were preterm, of which 15% were late preterm (n = 44), 5% moderate preterm (n = 14) and 3% preterm extreme (n = 9). In general, there were no differences in the frequency of bronchiolitis and pneumonia between the groups. Severe respiratory distress occurred in about 2%, both in term and preterm infants. Although the frequency of hospitalization and admission to intensive care was slightly higher in the pre-term ones, it was not statistically significant.

Conclusion:

In the present study, a history of preterm birth was not found associated with severity in children under three years with acute respiratory infection.

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