Isolated single umbilical artery poses neonates at increased risk of long-term respiratory morbidity.

Purpose: To investigate whether children born with isolated single umbilical artery (iSUA) at term are at an increased risk for long-term pediatric hospitalizations due to respiratory morbidity.

Methods: Design: a population-based cohort study compared the incidence of long-term, pediatric hospitalizations due to respiratory morbidity in children born with and without iSUA at term.

Setting: Soroka University Medical Center.

Participants: all singleton pregnancies of women who delivered between 1991 and 2013.

Main Outcome Measure(s): hospitalization due to respiratory morbidity.

Analyses: Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate cumulative incidence of respiratory morbidity. A Cox hazards model analysis was used to establish an independent association between iSUA and pediatric respiratory morbidity of the offspring while controlling for clinically relevant confounders.

Results: The study included 232,281 deliveries. 0.3% were of newborns with iSUA (n = 766). Newborns with iSUA had a significantly higher rate of long-term respiratory morbidity compared to newborns without iSUA (7.6 vs 5.5%, p = 0.01). Using a Kaplan-Meier survival curve, newborns with iSUA had a significantly higher cumulative incidence of respiratory hospitalizations (log rank = 0.006). In the Cox model, while controlling for the maternal age, gestational age, and birthweight, iSUA at term was found to be an independent risk factor for long-term respiratory morbidity (adjusted HR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.08-1.81; p = 0.012).

Conclusion: Newborns with iSUA are at an increased risk for long-term respiratory morbidity.