Neonatal outcomes of fetuses diagnosed with life-limiting conditions when individualized comfort measures are proposed.

Objective: To describe the neonatal outcomes of a case series of infants who were prenatally diagnosed with potential life-limiting conditions and to whom individualized comfort measures were offered.

Study Design: This is a retrospective analysis of the postnatal outcomes of a selected population of 49 infants prenatally diagnosed with potential life-limiting conditions whose parents were prenatally referred for counseling to the comfort care team.

Result: The prenatal diagnosis was confirmed postnatally in 45 infants. The only four survivors had a significant discrepancy between prenatal and postnatal diagnosis. Whether they were treated with individualized comfort measures (n=28) or intensive care (n=17), all the newborns died with similar median age at death (2 days).

Conclusion: Diagnostic accuracy is the main determinant of outcomes. Provision of intensive care neither prevents the death of infants affected by life-limiting conditions nor prolongs life compared with that of infants treated with individualized comfort measures.