Loop Diuretics in Severe Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Cumulative Use and Associations with Mortality and Age at Discharge

• Published in: The Journal of pediatrics Vol. 231; pp. 43 - 49.e3
• Main Authors: Bamat, Nicolas A., Nelin, Timothy D., Eichenwald, Eric C., Kirpalani, Haresh, Laughon, Matthew M., Jackson, Wesley M., Jensen, Erik A., Gibbs, Kathleen A., Lorch, Scott A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.2021
• Subjects: artificial respiration; bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - diagnosis; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - drug therapy; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - mortality; diuretics; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Healthcare Disparities - statistics & numerical data; Hospitals, Pediatric; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Linear Models; Logistic Models; Male; medication therapy management; Multivariate Analysis; Patient Discharge - statistics & numerical data; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data; premature infant; Retrospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Sodium Potassium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Treatment Outcome; United States; United States; medication therapy management; diuretics; PMA; BPD; PHIS; artificial respiration; NICU; bronchopulmonary dysplasia; premature infant
• ISSN: 0022-3476; 1097-6833; 1097-6833
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.10.073

To measure between-center variation in loop diuretic use in infants developing severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in US children's hospitals, and to compare mortality and age at discharge between infants from low-use centers and infants from high-use centers. We performed a retrospective cohort study of preterm infants at <32 weeks of gestational age with severe BPD. The primary outcome was cumulative loop diuretic use, defined as the proportion of days with exposure between admission and discharge. Infant characteristics associated with loop diuretic use at P < .10 were included in multivariable models to adjust for center differences in case mix. Hospitals were ranked from lowest to highest in adjusted use and dichotomized into low-use centers and high-use centers. We then compared mortality and postmenstrual age at discharge between the groups through multivariable analyses. We identified 3252 subjects from 43 centers. Significant variation between centers remained despite adjustment for infant characteristics, with use present in an adjusted mean range of 7.3% to 49.4% of days (P < .0001). Mortality did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (aOR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.62-1.53; P = .92), nor did postmenstrual age at discharge (marginal mean, 47.3 weeks [95% CI, 46.8-47.9 weeks] in the low-use group vs 47.4 weeks [95% CI, 46.9-47.9 weeks] in the high-use group; P = .96). A marked variation in loop diuretic use for infants developing severe BPD exists among US children's hospitals, without an observed difference in mortality or age at discharge. More research is needed to provide evidence-based guidance for this common exposure.