Racial disparities in calculated risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia: a dataset

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a severe pulmonary complication of prematurity and is associated with significant morbidity or death. Early use of systemic corticosteroids may alter the trajectory of the disease and improve outcomes. A BPD Outcomes estimator, developed by the NICHD using a large population dataset, can be used to calculate individual risk. Risk above a certain threshold may indicate that the benefits of corticosteroids outweigh the risks. Empiric analysis of this calculator by systematic entry of synthetic patient information reveals a marked racial disparity; black infants have lower risk of moderate/severe BPD due to a higher risk of death despite equivalent severity of illness. Interpretation and analysis of this finding can be found in “The challenge of risk stratification of preterm infants in the setting of competing and disparate healthcare outcomes” [1]. In this report, we provide the underlying data used in this analysis. Calculator output for 108 example patients, systematically varied by sex, birthweight, race, type of ventilator, and fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO(2)), is reported.