Association between early antibiotic exposure and bronchopulmonary dysplasia or death.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the independent association between antibiotic exposure in the first week of life and the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) or death among very preterm infants without culture-confirmed sepsis.

METHODS: Retrospective cohort study using the Optum Neonatal Database. Infants without culture-confirmed sepsis born less than 1500 g and less than 32 weeks gestation between 1/2010 and 11/2016 were included. The independent association between antibiotic therapy during the first week of life and BPD or death prior to 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) was assessed by multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS: Of 4950 infants, 3946 (79.7%) received antibiotics during the first week of life. Rates of BPD or death (41.5% vs. 31.1%, p < 0.001) and the two individual outcomes were significantly higher among antibiotic treated infants. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, antibiotic use in the first week of life was not associated with increased risk of BPD or death (OR 0.96, 95% CI [0.76,1.21]) or BPD among survivors (OR 0.86, 95% CI [0.67,1.09]). Antibiotic use was associated with increased risk of death prior to 36 weeks PMA (OR 3.01, 95% CI [1.59,5.71]), however, secondary analyses suggested this association may be confounded by unmeasured illness severity.

CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic exposure in the first week of life among preterm infants without culture-confirmed sepsis was not independently associated with increased risk of BPD or death.