Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of community neonatal services : a multicentre survey.
AU - Langley, D.
AU - Hollis, S.
AU - Friede, T.
AU - MacGregor, D.
AU - Gatrell, Anthony C.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Objectives: To explore the impact of a community neonatal service on high risk infant survivors in the first year of life. Design: Retrospective multicentre survey. Postal questionnaires were sent to selected parents. Setting: Thirty two neonatal units in England and Wales. Patients: Inclusion criteria: infants over 12 months of age with birth weight 1500 g, or who received level I intensive care for at least 48 hours. Exclusion criteria: multiple births, infants who had died or had severe congenital abnormalities. A total of 3367 eligible infants were selected, and their parents were sent a questionnaire; 65% responded. Main outcome measures: Length of stay on the neonatal unit from birth to initial discharge. Readmission to hospital during the first year of life. Results: The median length of stay in units with a community neonatal service was 35 days compared with 37 days in units without. When adjusted for infant and parent characteristics, the median length of stay was reduced by 12.6% where a community neonatal service was provided (95% confidence interval 5.3% to 19.3%). The readmission rates were 44.6% in units with a community neonatal service and 43.5% in units without. There was no significant reduction in the adjusted odds of readmission. Conclusions: The retrospective nature of this study means that these findings cannot be definitely attributed to the presence of a community neonatal service. However, the results suggest that community neonatal services may reduce the length of stay without any subsequent increase in readmission.
AB - Objectives: To explore the impact of a community neonatal service on high risk infant survivors in the first year of life. Design: Retrospective multicentre survey. Postal questionnaires were sent to selected parents. Setting: Thirty two neonatal units in England and Wales. Patients: Inclusion criteria: infants over 12 months of age with birth weight 1500 g, or who received level I intensive care for at least 48 hours. Exclusion criteria: multiple births, infants who had died or had severe congenital abnormalities. A total of 3367 eligible infants were selected, and their parents were sent a questionnaire; 65% responded. Main outcome measures: Length of stay on the neonatal unit from birth to initial discharge. Readmission to hospital during the first year of life. Results: The median length of stay in units with a community neonatal service was 35 days compared with 37 days in units without. When adjusted for infant and parent characteristics, the median length of stay was reduced by 12.6% where a community neonatal service was provided (95% confidence interval 5.3% to 19.3%). The readmission rates were 44.6% in units with a community neonatal service and 43.5% in units without. There was no significant reduction in the adjusted odds of readmission. Conclusions: The retrospective nature of this study means that these findings cannot be definitely attributed to the presence of a community neonatal service. However, the results suggest that community neonatal services may reduce the length of stay without any subsequent increase in readmission.
KW - community neonatal service
KW - hospital stay
KW - readmission
KW - high risk infants
M3 - Journal article
VL - 87
SP - 204
EP - 208
JO - Archives of Disease in Childhood
JF - Archives of Disease in Childhood
SN - 0003-9888
ER -