Childhood outcomes following discharge from a referral bronchopulmonary dysplasia program

The primary objective of this study was to profile the childhood health, development, and health-related quality of life (HR QoL) for children with the most severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), those discharged from a quaternary referral program.

We collected cross-sectional data through telephone interviews with 282 families of children ages 18 months to 11 years who had been discharged from a BPD referral program.

Respiratory morbidities were near universal, with 42% of children ever having required a tracheostomy and severity of these morbidities correlated with parent-reported health and QoL. Developmental morbidities were also marked: 97% required an individualized educational plan. While respiratory morbidities and overall health improved over time, developmental morbidities were increasingly prominent, resulting in lower quality of life.

Among children referred to a quaternary BPD program, respiratory and developmental morbidities are on numerous counts more severe than any reported in the literature.