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Outcomes of very‐low‐birthweight infants after discharge with a discharge weight of 1500 grams
Author(s) -
AhmadpourKacho Mousa,
Pasha Yadollah Zahed,
Aliabadi Behdis Motevalli
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-200x.2011.03517.x
Subject(s) - medicine , neonatology , hospital discharge , pediatrics , patient discharge , low birth weight , emergency department , emergency medicine , medline , intensive care medicine , pregnancy , nursing , genetics , political science , law , biology
Background: Discharge of very‐low‐birthweight (VLBW) neonates from hospital is an important issue and has a standard criterion worldwide. According to this criterion, VLBW infants will be discharged from hospital when weighing 1800–2100 g but in the newborn services at Amirkola Children's Hospital (ACH), VLBW neonates are discharged when reaching 1500 g. The aim of this study was to determine the safety of this policy. Methods: In this analytic‐prospective study, 100 premature neonates with discharging weight (DW) of 1500 g and a control group of 150 neonates with DW of 1600–2500 g were included. Both groups showed similar socioeconomic, perinatal and postnatal conditions. They were admitted and treated in the newborn services at ACH. The outcome variables, including death after discharge, readmission and need for emergency visit for an acute problem up to 3 months after discharge, were studied. The information was analyzed by spss ‐16 software and a P ‐value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Need for emergency visit after discharge reached a significant difference between the two groups (31 in the case group vs 21 in the control group, P = 0.000), but there were no significant differences in the readmission rate and death after discharge (two deaths and 15 readmissions in the case group vs two deaths and 21 readmissions in the control group, P = 0.855) Conclusion: In order to decrease the need for emergency visits, we suggest a program of early hospital discharge with home nursing visits and neonatologist support.