Abstract
Background: The length of stay (LOS) is a useful indicator of health and prediction of the LOS in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has drawn increasing attention over the past years. Objectives: To determine factors associated with infant’s LOS in the NICU in Bandar Abbas city, Southern Iran, between 2016 and 2017. Method: This cohort study reviewed 603 medical records of all NICU admitted newborns. Data were collected using data collection forms. The Cox multiple hazards regression model determined the factors associated with the infant’s LOS. Data was analysed using SPSS, version 21. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The median LOS in NICU was 9 days. The results of multiple Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that type of feeding, umbilical and central venous catheterization, mechanical ventilation, nosocomial infection, acute renal failure, blood transfusion, and antibiotic therapy were significantly associated with LOS in the NICU (p Conclusions: The type of feeding, umbilical and central venous catheterization, mechanical ventilation, nosocomial infection, acute renal failure, blood transfusion, and antibiotic therapy were significantly associated with LOS in the NICU. Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2019; 48(3): 226-232
Highlights
Around 38% of all deaths occur in children below 5 years of age in the neonatal period, approximately 75% of them occurring in the first week of birth[1,2]
600 infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Paediatric Department of Bandar Abbas hospital with length of stay (LOS) longer than 24 hours were selected as the target population
Univariate analysis revealed that gender, type of feeding, gastrointestinal disorder, heart disorders, umbilical and central venous catheterization, pneumothorax, intraventricular hemorrhage, mechanical ventilation, nosocomial infection, acute renal failure, blood transfusion, phototherapy, and antibiotic therapy were significantly associated with LOS in NICU (p
Summary
Around 38% of all deaths occur in children below 5 years of age in the neonatal period, approximately 75% of them occurring in the first week of birth[1,2]. Prediction of the length of stay (LOS) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a major determinant of the cause of infant deaths[4,5]. Such a prediction of LOS facilitates physician-parent communication regarding NICU LOS for infants[6]. Knowledge about factors associated with LOS may help design strategic plans to reduce hospitalization costs, improve emotional affinity between parents and infants, increase the quality of healthcare services, and increase economic benefits for the society[8]. The length of stay (LOS) is a useful indicator of health and prediction of the LOS in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has drawn increasing attention over the past years
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