Abstract
Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common serious pulmonary morbidity in premature
infants. The score for neonatal acute physiology (SNAP) is a physiologic severity index for neonatal intensive care
and correlates well with neonatal mortality and clinical outcomes. The prognostic value of the SNAP score for BPD
in preterm infants remains to be clarified. The aim of the study was to determine whether SNAP can predict the
development of BPD or death, and to investigate the contribution of SNAP to the predictive accuracy of other
potential perinatal risk factors for the adverse outcome in critically ill preterm infants.
Methods: We conducted a study in 160 critically ill preterm infants with less than 33 gestational weeks. The
original SNAP score was prospectively calculated based on 28 items collected during the first 24 hours of
admission. The potential perinatal risk factors were assessed during the first 72 hours of life. Major outcome
measures were BPD and mortality before the time of BPD screening.
Results: Of the 160 infants, 17 died and 41 developed BPD. The SNAP score was significantly associated with BPD
or death (odds ratio [OR] =1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-1.41; p