Discharge Criteria of Preterm Infants

Impact of Discharge Criteria on the Length of Stay in Preterm Infants: a Retrospective Study in Japan and Finland

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT06144190

Enrollment

Registered

2023-11-22

Start date

2020-01-01

Completion date

2022-07-31

Last updated

2023-11-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Length of Stay

Keywords

Early discharge, Family centered care, Tube feeding, Transition to home, Neonatal home care

Brief summary

This retrospective study aims to compare discharge criteria and their impact on the length of stay using two neonatal intensive care units from two countries. The possible discharge criteria include temperature control, apnea observation, periodic respiration, least weight limit, and parents' readiness. The data were collected retrospectively in each study site.

Detailed description

Aims: To compare discharge criteria and their impact on the length of stay among preterm infants in Japan and Finland. The possible discharge criteria include temperature control, apnea observation, periodic respiration, least weight limit, and parents' readiness. Study design and settings: This is a retrospective comparison study in two NICUs: a Level IV in Japan and a Level III in Finland. Patients: Eligible infants are those who were born between 28+0 and 31+6 weeks of gestation and who were discharged home from the study sites between January 2020 and December 2021. Infants will be excluded if (1) they have major anomalies at birth, (2) they are not discharged home from the study sites, or (3) they are discharged home with oxygen and/or after tracheostomy. Outcome measures: The primary outcomes are the most common last discharge criterion between the two NICUs, and the potential shortening effects of each discharge criterion on the length of stay. The secondary outcome is the postmenstrual age (PMA) for each discharge criterion. Statistics: The comparison between two continuous variables will be carried out by the student t test. Ethics: The Ethics Committee of Nagano Children's Hospital gave ethical approval to this study. The study permission was obtained in both study sites.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

COHORT

Time perspective

RETROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Born between 28 and 31 weeks of gestation and * Discharged home from the study sites between January 2020 and December 2021

Exclusion criteria

* Having major anomalies at birth * Need for home oxygen therapy, tracheostomy, and/or gastrostomy at discharge

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Last discharge criterion	at discharge (about 2 months of age)	The most common last discharge criterion that was met in each study site
Effects of each discharge criterion on the length of stay	at discharge (about 2 months of age)	The potential shortening effects of each discharge criterion on the length of stay

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
The postmenstrual age for each discharge criterion	at discharge (about 2 months of age)	The postmenstrual age for each discharge criterion that was met

Countries

Japan

Outcome results