2025 Volume 61 Issue 2 Pages 399-403
A low Apgar score and the need for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in preterm infants are associated with high mortality and neurodevelopmental impairment. We experienced a case of an extremely preterm infant who was born in an ambulance and underwent cardiopulmonary arrest upon arrival at the hospital but recovered following resuscitation and survived without complications. The infant was a male born at 24 weeks and 4 days of gestation, weighing 620g. The mother had experienced abdominal pain and called for emergency services; she was then delivered in the ambulance. Emergency medical technicians initiated chest compression and positive pressure ventilation, and the neonate was transported without umbilical cord clamping. Upon the patient’s arrival at the hospital, the neonatologist examined the patient and resumed resuscitation due to cardiopulmonary arrest. He subsequently recovered, and chest compression was stopped at 26 minutes of age. The patient was then admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. No intracranial hemorrhage was observed, and his condition gradually stabilized. The hospitalization course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged at the corrected age of 46 weeks without complications or the need for home medical care. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head revealed no abnormalities, and at a chronological age of 3 years, his developmental quotient on the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development was 79, without neurodevelopmental impairment. Delayed umbilical cord clamping, although incidental, might have contributed to the avoidance of neurodevelopmental impairment by increasing blood volume and stabilizing circulation through continued blood flow between the mother and infant.
