Epidemiology of Surgical Procedures, Anesthesia, and Imaging Studies by Gestational Age during the First Year of Life in Medicaid-Insured Infants

Population study of 1.1 million Texas Medicaid infants found surgical procedure rates increase dramatically with prematurity—extremely premature infants undergo 21 times more procedures than term infants in their first year. Neurosurgery and feeding interventions dominate in the most premature, while paradoxically these infants receive anesthesia less frequently for imaging studies like MRI.