Neonatal morbidity occurs despite pulmonary maturity prior to 39 weeks gestation

Objective:to compare outcomes among late-preterm or early-term neonates according to fetal lung maturity (flm) status.study design:we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 234 eligible singletons delivered after flm testing before 39 weeks gestation at our center over a 2-year time period. a primary composite neonatal outcome included death and major morbidities.result:the overall rate of primary composite morbidity was 25/46 (52.2%) and 61/188 (32.4%) in the immature/transitional and mature groups, respectively. after adjustment for confounders including gestational age, the composite outcome was not significantly different; adjusted odds ratio (aor)=1.4 (confidence interval (ci)=0.7–3.0). the rate of respiratory distress syndrome was significantly higher in the immature/transitional group; odds ratio=3.4 (ci=1.1–10.3) as expected.conclusion:flm status did not correlate with the spectrum of neonatal morbidities in late-preterm and early-term births. neonatal complications remained common in both groups.