# Premature Newborn (Preterm Infant)

- Category: acute
- Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page)
- Sources: Guidelines on Basic Newborn Resuscitation - World Health Organization - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK137872/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class AD65 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
- Verified date: 2026-08

## Verified against

- No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

## Treatment metadata

- No drug therapy in primary care (Referral & Advice)

## Complete treatment card

```text
PREMATURE NEWBORN (PRETERM INFANT)
Sources: Guidelines on Basic Newborn Resuscitation - World Health Organization - NCBI Bookshelf -
         https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK137872/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification
         of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class AD65 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose -
         referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
Review status: REVIEWED against the source listed above  (2026-08)

1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)    [1st line]
   Adult    Preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation) is a neonatal emergency requiring immediate thermal
            care (skin-to-skin contact or warm wrap) and urgent transfer to a neonatal intensive
            care unit (NICU). Primary care management focuses on maintaining normothermia,
            evaluating respiratory distress (grunting, nasal flaring, intercostal retractions),
            checking blood glucose, and ensuring immediate transport without oral feeding in
            distressed infants. Never delay emergency transfer for outpatient management. - Refer,
            with advice
   Peds     Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is
            implied.
   Source   No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
   Why      Preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation) is a neonatal emergency requiring immediate thermal
            care (skin-to-skin contact or warm wrap) and urgent transfer to a neonatal intensive
            care unit (NICU). Primary care management focuses on maintaining normothermia,
            evaluating respiratory distress (grunting, nasal flaring, intercostal retractions),
            checking blood glucose, and ensuring immediate transport without oral feeding in
            distressed infants. Never delay emergency transfer for outpatient management.
   Caution  RED FLAG - Severe hypothermia and hypoglycemia: assess urgently and refer.
            Respiratory distress, poor feeding, lethargy, or temperature instability in a preterm
            infant needs emergency neonatal transfer.
            Hypoglycaemia is common and dangerous in preterm infants - check glucose early if any
            assessment is being done at all.
            No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and
            referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.
```

---

Dawaa Reference is a reference for prescribers, not a medical device, and does not replace clinical judgement.

[Privacy policy](/privacy)