LAUSR

To assess the prevalence and outcomes of spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) in very low birth weight infants. This cross-sectional study utilized the National Inpatient Sample dataset for the years 2002–2017. All premature infants with birth weight (BW) <1500 g and with gestational age (GA) ≤32 weeks were included. Analyses were repeated after stratifying the population into two BW sub-categories <1000 g and 1000–1499 g. Trend analysis was done using Cochran–Armitage test. Regression analysis was conducted to control for gestational age, race, and sex. A total of 658,001 infants were included. SIP (n = 10,443, 1.6%) was mostly (81.9%) in the category <1000 g with 89.9% ≤28 weeks of gestation. There was a significant trend for increased SIP over the years (p < 0.001). SIP was associated with increased mortality (aOR = 2.24, CI: 2.04–2.46, p < 0.001). After controlling for gestational age and other confounders, SIP is associated with increased mortality in premature infants.