265 - Mortality and morbidity of Very Preterm Infants conceived with Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) in Chinese NICU：A Multicenter Cohort Study

Poster Number: 265
Publication Number: 265.131

Ruimiao BAI, Northwest Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China (People's Republic); Siyuan Jiang, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic); Xinyue Gu, Children's Hospital of Fudan Umiversity, Shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic); Yun Cao, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, PCR, Shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic); Wenhao Zhou, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic); Shoo K. Lee, University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, ON, Canada; Zhankui Li, Northwest Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China (People's Republic); Tiantian Xiao, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China (People's Republic); Ruimiao BAI, Northwest children's and Woman's hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China (People's Republic)

Background: The number of infants born after assisted reproductive technology (ART) has increased in recent years in China. Limited data is available regarding the outcome of very preterm infants (VPIs) born after ART.

Objective:

Our objective was to compare the mortality and morbidity of VPIs conceived via ART to those naturally conceived.

Design/Methods: All infants born at 24-31 weeks gestational age (GA) and admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) participating in the Chinese Neonatal Network (CHNN) between January, 2019 and December, 2021 were included. The primary outcome was neonatal composite outcome, including death or any major morbidity (necrotizing enterocolitis, severe brain injury, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and severe retinopathy of prematurity). The secondary outcomes were each component of the neonatal composite outcome. Multivariable logistic regression adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics were used to evaluate the association of ART and neonatal outcomes. Subgroup analyses were performed among the VPIs across different gestational age.

Results: A total of 28,264 VPIs born at 24-31 weeks GA were enrolled, of which 4,713 (16.7%) infants were conceived through ART, while 23,551 (83.3%) infants were conceived naturally. Among VPIs, ART was not associated with neonatal composite outcome after adjustment for potential confounders (adjusted OR 0.92, 95%CI: 0.86 - 1.10). Secondary neonatal outcomes were also not significantly different between infants conceived through ART or naturally, after adjusting for confounders, except for overall mortality (adjusted OR 0.84, 95%CI: 0.77 - 0.97), and sepsis (adjusted OR 1.14, 95%CI:1,02-1.27). In subgroup analysis, no statistically significant differences were observed in neonatal composite outcomes between infants conceived via ART or naturally among any GA subgroups, except that ART was associated with higher odds of NEC (adjusted OR 2.20, 95%CI:1.23-3.95), early-onset sepsis (adjusted OR 2.24, 95%CI:1.02-4.90) among infants < 26 weeks' gestation.

Conclusion(s): VPIs born following ART did not show increased risks of adverse outcomes compared with those conceived naturally.