Association of early discharge with increased likelihood of hospital readmission in first four weeks for vaginally delivered neonates.

AIM: The main aim was to determine whether hospital readmission rates by 28 days of age are elevated with early discharge (ED) in Finland. We sought to identify the causes and predictors of ED, readmission rates, admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) and death. METHODS: The data of 333,321 infants were retrieved from nationwide registers. Vaginally delivered single infants at gestational ages (GAs) of ≥37+0 , born in 2008-2015 and treated in any maternity ward in Finland, were included. ED was defined as discharge on the day of birth or after one night stay on the maternity ward. RESULTS: During the study period, the ED and hospital readmission rates increased. Low-risk infants and those born in high population-density areas were more likely to be discharged early. ED predicted hospital readmission but not ICU admission or death. The most common reason for readmission was jaundice, followed by infection. ED seemed not to predict severe cardiologic problems. Rather than ED, being born at 38+0 -38+6  weeks' GA significantly predicted ICU admission or death. CONCLUSION: Early discharge seems to be associated with increased hospital readmission. Birth at 38+0 -38+6  weeks' GA was a significant predictor of ICU admission or death, as opposed to early discharged infants.

Calcium supplementation during pregnancy and long-term offspring outcome: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

The World Health Organization currently recommends calcium supplementation for pregnant women, especially those with low calcium intakes, to reduce the risk of hypertension and preeclampsia. We aimed to evaluate the effect of this intervention on selected offspring outcomes. A systematic search was conducted in 11 databases for published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effect of maternal calcium supplementation with or without vitamin D during pregnancy on selected offspring cardiovascular, growth, and metabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Screening of titles and abstracts of 3555 records and full texts of 31 records yielded six RCTs (nine reports, n = 1616). Forest plot analyses were performed if at least two studies presented comparable data on the same outcome. In one study (n = 591), high-dose calcium supplementation during pregnancy was associated with a decreased risk of offspring high systolic blood pressure at 5-7 years of age (risk ratio = 0.59; 95% confidence interval: 0.39-0.90). The effects of the intervention on offspring growth, metabolic, and neurodevelopmental outcomes remain unknown because of conflicting or insufficient data. High risk of attrition bias decreased the quality of the evidence. Limited available data from RCTs do not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that prenatal calcium supplementation influences offspring health outcomes beyond the newborn period.

Calcium supplementation during pregnancy and maternal and offspring bone health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Insufficient calcium intake during pregnancy may lead to maternal bone resorption and lower bone density of offspring. We evaluated the impact of supplementary calcium with or without vitamin D during pregnancy on maternal and offspring bone mineral density (BMD) and teeth firmness of the offspring. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched systematically in 11 databases. Two researchers independently screened the titles and abstracts of 3555 records and the full texts of 31 records to examine eligibility. The search yielded seven RCTs (11 reports, n = 1566).  No advantage of calcium supplementation was found on maternal BMD after delivery or during breastfeeding, or on offspring BMD, even when dietary calcium intake was low. The results were neither modified by the dose of calcium nor concomitant vitamin D administration. A suspicion of some long-term harm of the intervention on maternal BMD and growth of female offspring was raised based on the data. One study suggested some benefit of high-dose calcium supplementation on offspring teeth firmness at 12 years old. A low number of the studies and abundant missing data reduced the quality of the findings. The impact of calcium supplementation on maternal and offspring bone health was deemed unknown because of inconclusive research results.

Is birth out-of-hospital associated with mortality and morbidity by seven years of age?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Compared to in-hospital births, the long-term outcome of children born out-of-hospital, planned or unplanned, is poorly studied. This study aimed to examine mortality and morbidity by seven years of age in children born out-of-hospital compared to those born in-hospital. METHODS: This study was registered retrospectively and included 790 136 children born in Finland between 1996 and 2013. The study population was divided into three groups according to birth site: in-hospital (n = 788 622), planned out-of-hospital (n = 176), and unplanned out-of-hospital (n = 1338). Data regarding deaths, hospital visits, reimbursement of medical expenses, and disability allowances was collected up to seven years of age or by the year-end of 2018. The association between birth site and childhood morbidity was determined using multivariable-adjusted Cox hazard regression analysis. RESULTS: No deaths were reported during the first seven years after birth in the children born out-of-hospital. The percentage of children with hospital visits due to infection by seven years of age was lower in those born planned out-of-hospital and in the combined planned out-of-hospital and unplanned out-of-hospital group compared to those born in-hospital. Furthermore, the percentage of children with hospital visits and who received disability allowances due to neurological or mental disorders was higher among those born unplanned out-of-hospital and out-of-hospital in total when compared to those born in-hospital. In the multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, the hazard ratio for hospital visits due to asthma and/or allergic diseases (HR 0.84; 95% CI 0.72-0.98) was lower in children born out-of-hospital when compared to those born in-hospital. A similar decreased risk was found due to infections (HR 0.76; 95% CI 0.68-0.84). However, the risk for neurological or mental health disorders was similar between the children born in-hospital and out-of-hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Morbidity related to asthma or allergic diseases and infections by seven years of age appeared to be lower in children born out-of-hospital. Birth out-of-hospital seemed to not be associated with increased risk for neurological morbidity nor early childhood mortality. Our study groups were small and heterogeneous and because of this the results need to be interpreted with caution.

Assisting nurses in care documentation: from automated sentence classification to coherent document structures with subject headings.

BACKGROUND: Up to 35% of nurses' working time is spent on care documentation. We describe the evaluation of a system aimed at assisting nurses in documenting patient care and potentially reducing the documentation workload. Our goal is to enable nurses to write or dictate nursing notes in a narrative manner without having to manually structure their text under subject headings. In the current care classification standard used in the targeted hospital, there are more than 500 subject headings to choose from, making it challenging and time consuming for nurses to use. METHODS: The task of the presented system is to automatically group sentences into paragraphs and assign subject headings. For classification the system relies on a neural network-based text classification model. The nursing notes are initially classified on sentence level. Subsequently coherent paragraphs are constructed from related sentences. RESULTS: Based on a manual evaluation conducted by a group of three domain experts, we find that in about 69% of the paragraphs formed by the system the topics of the sentences are coherent and the assigned paragraph headings correctly describe the topics. We also show that the use of a paragraph merging step reduces the number of paragraphs produced by 23% without affecting the performance of the system. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that the presented system produces a coherent and logical structure for freely written nursing narratives and has the potential to reduce the time and effort nurses are currently spending on documenting care in hospitals.

Unplanned out-of-hospital deliveries in Finland: A national register study on incidence, characteristics and maternal and infant outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Unplanned out-of-hospital deliveries (UOHDs) have earlier been related to higher perinatal mortality and morbidity, but recent research has not paid much attention to them. Our aim was to evaluate the incidence, characteristics, risk factors, and maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity in UOHDs in Finland. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a national register study on births, causes of death and congenital anomalies for all live and stillbirths during 1996-2013. The study group included 1420 infants delivered by mothers with UOHDs. The 1 051 139 infants born in hospitals during the study period were the reference group. Data on maternal and delivery characteristics, obstetric procedures, infants' characteristics, neonatal care unit admissions, diagnoses, congenital anomalies and causes of death were collected. RESULTS: The annual rate of UOHDs increased in 1996-2013 from 46 to 260 per 100 000 deliveries, whereas the number of delivery units decreased from 44 to 29. UOHD infants had five times higher perinatal mortality rates than those delivered in hospitals. The perinatal mortality rate did not change by time in the UOHDs, whereas it diminished among in-hospital deliveries. Maternal morbidity in UOHDs was low. The predictors for UOHDs were delivery after the year 2001, delivery in sparsely populated areas, alcohol, drug abuse and/or smoking during pregnancy, being single, fewer prenatal visits, having delivered earlier and birthweight <2500 g. UOHD was one of the predictors of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Among the UOHD cases, the predictors of perinatal morbidity or mortality included low birthweight and preterm delivery. Time period seemed not to predict morbidity or mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The UOHD rate increased, probably due to multifactorial causes, including living in area with low population density and short duration of labor. UOHD was a significant predictor of perinatal morbidity or mortality, but the numbers were very small. Neonatal morbidity and mortality in UOHDs did not seem to be related to the area or time period of birth.

Hospital admissions for lower respiratory tract infections after early-, late-, and post-term birth.

BACKGROUND: Recent data suggest that early-term births are associated with later respiratory morbidity (LRTI), and post-term births may decrease this risk. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to determine the impact of early-term, late-term, and post-term birth on hospital admission for LRTI up to the age of seven years. Additionally, we explored maternal and perinatal factors associated with the risk of admission for LRTIs. METHODS: The association of early-term (37+0 -38+6  weeks), late-term (41+0 -41+6  weeks), and post-term (≥42 weeks) birth with hospital admissions for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in comparison with infants born full-term (39+0 -40+6  weeks) was assessed and early predictors of LRTI were established. The register study included 948 695 infants born in Finland in 1991-2008. Data were analysed in four-term subgroups. Hospital admissions for bronchiolitis/bronchitis and pneumonia were collected up to 7 years of age. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess risk factors of LRTI admissions. RESULTS: The rates of hospital admission in the early-, full-, late-, and post-term groups were 6.7%, 5.5%, 5.1%, and 4.8% for bronchiolitis/bronchitis, and 2.8%, 2.4%, 2.3%, and 2.3% for pneumonia. Early-term birth was associated with an increased risk of admission for bronchiolitis/bronchitis (hazard ratio HR 1.21, 95% confidence interval CI 1.18, 1.23) and pneumonia (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.12, 1.20), while late-term (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.91, 0.95) and post-term births (HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.85, 0.93) were associated with a decreased risk of bronchiolitis/bronchitis admission compared with the full-term group. Maternal age ≤ 20 years, smoking during pregnancy, male sex, caesarean delivery, small for gestational age, 1-minute Apgar score < 4, ventilator support, and neonatal antibiotic therapy were associated with an increased risk of LRTI admission, while being firstborn, born in a level-II hospital and in the Northern region was associated with decreased risk. CONCLUSION: Early-term birth was associated with a higher risk of all LRTI admissions while late-term and post-term births were associated with lower risk of bronchiolitis/bronchitis admission. Modifiable risk factors of LRTIs were smoking during pregnancy, birth by elective caesarean delivery, neonatal ventilator support, and antibiotic therapy.

Planned home deliveries in Finland, 1996-2013.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate trends and perinatal outcomes of planned home deliveries in Finland. STUDY DESIGN: All infants born in 1996-2013, excluding those born preterm, by operative delivery, and without information on birth mode or gestational age, were studied. The study group included 170 infants born at home as planned, 720,047 infants born at hospital were controls. RESULT: The rate of planned home deliveries increased from 8.3 to 39.4 per 100,000. In the study group 63%, containing two perinatal deaths, were not low-risk pregnancies according to national guidelines. The rate of hypothermia, asphyxia, and need of invasive ventilation was increased in low-risk home deliveries. One infant had a major congenital malformation. Maternal outcomes were favorable. CONCLUSION: The rate of planned home deliveries increased. Guidelines for low-risk deliveries were not followed in a majority of cases, including two perinatal deaths. Even in low-risk home deliveries, the neonatal morbidity appeared to be increased.

Visual and Hearing Impairments After Preterm Birth.

OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to determine and compare the incidences of sensory impairments among very preterm (VP) (<32 + 0/7 weeks), moderately preterm (MP) (32 + 0/7-33 + 6/7 weeks), late preterm (LP) (34 + 0/7-36 + 6/7 weeks), and term infants (≥37 weeks) and to establish risk factors of neurosensory disabilities. METHODS: This national register study included all live-born infants in Finland between 1991 and 2008. Infants who died before the age of 1 year, who had any major congenital anomaly, or had missing data were excluded (n = 21 007; 2.0%). A total of 1 018 256 infants were analyzed. Incidences of hearing loss, visual disturbances or blindness, other ophthalmologic disorders, and retinopathy of prematurity were determined for gestational age (GA) groups. Risk factors of hearing loss and visual disturbances or blindness were analyzed. RESULTS: The incidences of sensory impairments decreased with advancing GA at birth (P < .001). The most prominent factors associated with increased risks of hearing loss and visual impairment were intracranial hemorrhage and convulsions. VP (odds ratio [OR] 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.75-3.14) and LP (OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.04-1.52) births were associated with an increased risk of hearing loss, and VP (OR 1.94; 95% CI 1.55-2.44), MP (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.11-1.80), and LP (OR 1.31; 95% CI 1.16-1.49) births predicted an increased risk of visual impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Incidences of sensory impairment decreased with increasing GA at birth. The most prominent risk factors predictive of sensory disabilities were intracranial hemorrhage and convulsions. VP and LP births were associated with an increased risk of hearing loss, and VP, MP, and LP births were associated with an increased risk of visual impairment.

Ontology Development for Patient Education Documents Using a Professional- and Patient-Oriented Delphi Method.

Written patient education materials are essential to motivate and help patients to participate in their own care, but the production and management of a large collection of high-quality and easily accessible patient education documents can be challenging. Ontologies can aid in these tasks, but the existing resources are not directly applicable to patient education. An ontology that models patient education documents and their readers was constructed. The Delphi method was used to identify a compact but sufficient set of entities with which the topics of documents may be described. The preferred terms of the entities were also considered to ensure their understandability. In the ontology, readers may be characterized by gender, age group, language, and role (patient or professional), whereas documents may be characterized by audience, topic(s), and content, as well as the time and place of use. The Delphi method yielded 265 unique document topics that are organized into seven hierarchies. Advantages and disadvantages of the ontology design, as well as possibilities for improvements, were identified. The patient education material ontology can enhance many applications, but further development is needed to reach its full potential.

Asthma and atopic dermatitis after early-, late-, and post-term birth.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence and risk factors of asthma and atopic dermatitis by seven years of age after early-term (ET) (37+0 -38+6 weeks), full-term (FT) (39+0 -40+6 weeks), late-term (LT) (41+0 -41+6 weeks), and especially post-term (PT) (≥42 weeks) birth. METHODS: Altogether, 965 203 infants born between 1991 and 2008 in Finland were investigated in ET, FT, LT, and PT groups. Data on asthma medication reimbursement and hospital visits for atopic dermatitis were retrieved from national health databases. RESULTS: The frequencies of asthma medication reimbursement in the ET, FT, LT, and PT groups were 4.5%, 3.7%, 3.3%, and 3.2%, respectively. Hospital visits due to atopic dermatitis were most common after PT birth. Compared with FT births, ET births were associated with an increased risk of asthma (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20, 1.17-1.23), while LT (aOR, 95%CI 0.91, 0.89-0.93) births and PT (aOR, 95%CI 0.87, 0.83-0.92) births decreased this risk. PT birth (aOR, 95%CI 1.06, 1.01-1.10) predicted atopic dermatitis. From a population point of view, the most relevant risk factors for asthma were male sex, ET birth, smoking during pregnancy and birth by elective cesarean section, and for atopic dermatitis male sex, first delivery, birth in a level II hospital and birth by cesarean section. CONCLUSIONS: Early-term birth was a predictor of asthma, and PT birth was associated with atopic dermatitis. Counseling against smoking and following strict indications for planned ET deliveries and cesarean sections may be means to reduce the risk of later asthma.

Hospital admissions for lower respiratory tract infections in children born moderately/late preterm.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency and predictors of hospital admissions for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in moderately preterm (MP, 32+0 to 33+6 weeks) and late preterm (LP, 34+0 to 36+6 weeks) infants compared to term (T ≥37 weeks) and very preterm (VP, <32+0 weeks) infants. STUDY DESIGN: This national register-based study covered all infants born in Finland in 1991-2008. Data on 1 018 256 infants were analyzed in four gestational age-based groups: VP (n = 6329), MP (n = 6796), LP (n = 39 928), and T (n = 965 203) groups. Data on hospital admissions due to bronchiolitis/bronchitis and pneumonia were collected up to the age of 7 years. RESULTS: Hospital admissions for LRTIs were more common in the MP and LP groups than in the T group but less frequent than in the VP group: bronchiolitis/bronchitis (VP 24.4%, MP 13.9%, LP 9.5%, and T 5.6%) and pneumonia (VP 8.8%, MP 4.5%, LP 3.3%, and T 2.4%). Compared to the term group, MP and LP birth predicted bronchiolitis/bronchitis (MP OR 1.89; 95%CI 1.75-2.03, LP 1.51; 1.45-1.56) and pneumonia (MP 1.49; 1.32-1.67, LP 1.25; 1.18-1.33) admissions. Statistically significant risk factors for LRTIs included maternal smoking, cesarean section, male sex, admission to a neonatal unit and ventilator therapy. In addition, being first-born, being born SGA and neonatal antibiotic therapy were associated with bronchiolitis/bronchitis. CONCLUSIONS: MP and LP births, in addition to VP birth, have a significant impact on respiratory infectious morbidity and the need of hospital admissions for LRTIs.

The incidence and risk factors of epilepsy in children born preterm: A nationwide register study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to compare the incidence of epilepsy between very preterm (VP) (<32+0 weeks), moderately preterm (MP) (32+0-33+6 weeks), late preterm (LP) (34+0-36+6 weeks) and term infants (≥37 weeks) and to establish and compare risk factors of epilepsy in these groups. METHODS: The national register study included all live born infants in Finland in 1991-2008. Excluding infants with missing gestational age, a total of 1,033,349 infants were included in the analysis and they were analyzed in four subgroups (VP, MP, LP and term) and three time periods (1991-1995, 1996-2001 and 2002-2008). RESULTS: 5611 (0.54%) children with epilepsy were diagnosed. The incidence of epilepsy was 2.53% in the VP, 1.08% in the MP, 0.75% in the LP and 0.51% in the term group. Intracranial hemorrhage (OR 3.48; 95% CI 2.47-4.89) and convulsions in the neonatal period (OR 13.4; 95% CI 10.2-17.6) were associated with an increased risk of epilepsy. Compared to the term group, preterm birth (VP OR 4.59; 95% CI 3.79-5.57, MP 1.97; 1.48-2.63, LP 1.44; 1.25-1.68) was associated with an increased risk of epilepsy after adjusting for maternal, pregnancy, delivery and sex variables. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of epilepsy decreased by advancing gestational age at birth and preterm birth predicted an increased risk of epilepsy in childhood. Intracranial hemorrhage and neonatal convulsions were strongly associated with an increased risk of epilepsy.

Designing a Health-Game Intervention Supporting Health Literacy and a Tobacco-Free Life in Early Adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the design of a health game that aims to both support tobacco-related health literacy and a tobacco-free life in early adolescence and to meet adolescents' expectations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected from adolescents using an open-ended questionnaire (n = 83) and focus groups (n = 39) to obtain their view of a health game used for tobacco-related health education. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. A group of experts combined the adolescents' views with theoretical information on health literacy and designed and produced the first version of the game. Adolescents (session 1, n = 16; session 3, n = 10; and session 4, n = 44) and health promotion professionals (session 2, n = 3) participated in testing the game. Feedback from testing sessions 3 and 4 was analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Adolescents pointed out that the health game needs to approach the topic of tobacco delicately and focus on the adolescents' perspective and on the positive sides of a tobacco-free life rather than only on the negative consequences of tobacco. The adolescents expected the game to be of high quality, stimulating, and intellectually challenging and to offer possibilities for individualization. Elements from the adolescents' view and theoretical modelling were embedded into the design of a game called Fume. Feedback on the game was promising, but some points were highlighted for further development. CONCLUSION: Investing especially in high-quality design features, such as graphics and versatile content, using humoristic or otherwise stimulating elements, and maintaining sufficiently challenging gameplay would promote the acceptability of theory-based health games among adolescents.

Asthma and atopic dermatitis in children born moderately and late preterm.

UNLABELLED: This national register study aimed to evaluate the need of asthma medication reimbursement and hospitalization due to asthma and atopic dermatitis up to 7 years of age in moderately preterm (MP) (32-33 weeks) and late preterm (LP) (34-36 weeks) children compared to very preterm (VP) (<32 weeks) and term (≥37 weeks) children. Altogether, 1,018,302 children born in Finland between 1991 and 2008 were assessed. The MP and LP groups received asthma medication reimbursement more frequently than term controls (8.0 and 5.7 vs. 3.8 %), but less frequently than VP children (15.4 %). Hospitalization due to asthma was more common among MP (10.6 %) and LP (7.3 %) children than term children (4.8 %) but less common than in VP children (20.1 %). Hospitalization due to atopic dermatitis was more frequent among term (5.2 %) compared to MP (4.2 %) and LP (4.7 %) children. Male sex, maternal smoking, maternal diabetes, and ventilator therapy predicted asthma medication in the MP and/or LP children. CONCLUSION: MP and LP children seem to need medication and hospitalization for asthma more often than term controls but less frequently than VP children followed by 7 years of age. Hospitalization due to atopic dermatitis becomes more common with increasing gestational age. WHAT IS KNOWN: • MP and LP infants have an increased risk for early respiratory morbidity and to asthma. • Less is known on the occurrence of atopic dermatitis in this patient group. What is New: • Medication and hospital care due to asthma were more frequent in school-aged MP and LP than in term infants. Male sex, maternal smoking, maternal diabetes and ventilator therapy predicted asthma. • Hospitalization due to atopic dermatitis became more common with increasing gestational age.

Out-of-hospital deliveries have risen involving greater neonatal morbidity: Risk factors in out-of-hospital deliveries in one University Hospital region in Finland.

AIM: Most Finnish births take place in hospital, but out-of-hospital deliveries (OHDs) have increased. This study evaluated trends and reasons for OHDs in the Tampere University Hospital catchment area. METHODS: The study cohort included all planned and unplanned OHDs in the Hospital area from 1996 to 2011; the control group comprised two hospital births for each OHD. Trends in incidence and risk factors for OHDs, including neonatal morbidities, were established and compared to the controls. RESULTS: OHDs accounted for 67 (0.10%) of the 76 773 births in the area, the proportion remaining unchanged between 1996 and 2005, but then increasing. Risk factors associated with OHDs were smoking during pregnancy, short labour, higher number of previous births, single status, residence more than 35 kilometres from the delivery unit and fewer prenatal visits. OHD cases were more likely to be admitted to the neonatal care unit than controls and to be treated for suspected infections and hypothermia. CONCLUSION: Smoking, short duration of labour, a higher number of previous births, single status and longer distances from the delivery unit were associated with OHDs. Eight (12%) mothers had OHDs without antenatal care, and their infants had more neonatal morbidities.

Cerebral palsy among children born moderately and late preterm.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of and risk factors for cerebral palsy (CP) in moderately preterm (MP) (32(+0)-33(+6) weeks) and late preterm (LP) (34(+0)-36(+6) weeks) infants with those in very preterm (VP) (<32(+0) weeks) and term infants (≥37 weeks). METHODS: The national register study included all live-born infants in Finland from 1991 to 2008. Infants who died before the age of 1 year, had any major congenital anomaly, or had missing data were excluded. A total of 1 018 302 infants were included in the analysis and they were analyzed in 4 subgroups (VP, MP, LP, and term) and 3 time periods (1991-1995, 1996-2001, and 2002-2008). RESULTS: By the age of 7 years, 2242 children with CP were diagnosed (0.2%). CP incidence was 8.7% in the VP, 2.4% in the MP, 0.6% in the LP, and 0.1% in the term group. The risk of CP was highest in the study period 1991-1995 in all groups. Factors predictive of an increased CP risk in the MP and LP groups included resuscitation at birth (odds ratio 1.60; 95% CI 1.01-2.53 and 1.78; 1.09-2.90), antibiotic treatment during the first hospitalization (1.63; 1.08-2.45 and 1.67; 1.13-2.44), 1-minute Apgar score <7 (1.70; 1.15-2.52 and 1.80; 1.21-2.67) and intracranial hemorrhage (7.18; 3.60-14.3 and 12.8; 5.58-29.2). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CP is higher in LP and MP infants compared with term infants. There is a nonlinear decrease in incidence over time and with increasing gestational age.

Describing the sublanguage of wound care in an adult ICU.

Comprehensive wound documentation is an important tool in evaluating and planning patient care. The sublanguage used in ICUs may affect negatively to the wound care and thus to the healing process. We made a quantitative content analysis of nursing documentation of cardiac surgery adult patients (n=60) who had stayed over four days in the ICU. The sublanguage used in nursing documentation of wounds and ulcers in the ICU was unstructured with many words of colloquial language, misspellings and abbreviations. The documentation did not cover all aspects of proper wound care. The information technology could be helpful for nurses to document right things with plain language.

Characteristics of Finnish and Swedish intensive care nursing narratives: a comparative analysis to support the development of clinical language technologies.

BACKGROUND: Free text is helpful for entering information into electronic health records, but reusing it is a challenge. The need for language technology for processing Finnish and Swedish healthcare text is therefore evident; however, Finnish and Swedish are linguistically very dissimilar. In this paper we present a comparison of characteristics in Finnish and Swedish free-text nursing narratives from intensive care. This creates a framework for characterising and comparing clinical text and lays the groundwork for developing clinical language technologies. METHODS: Our material included daily nursing narratives from one intensive care unit in Finland and one in Sweden. Inclusion criteria for patients were an inpatient period of least five days and an age of at least 16 years. We performed a comparative analysis as part of a collaborative effort between Finnish- and Swedish-speaking healthcare and language technology professionals that included both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The qualitative analysis addressed the content and structure of three average-sized health records from each country. In the quantitative analysis 514 Finnish and 379 Swedish health records were studied using various language technology tools. RESULTS: Although the two languages are not closely related, nursing narratives in Finland and Sweden had many properties in common. Both made use of specialised jargon and their content was very similar. However, many of these characteristics were challenging regarding development of language technology to support producing and using clinical documentation. CONCLUSIONS: The way Finnish and Swedish intensive care nursing was documented, was not country or language dependent, but shared a common context, principles and structural features and even similar vocabulary elements. Technology solutions are therefore likely to be applicable to a wider range of natural languages, but they need linguistic tailoring. AVAILABILITY: The Finnish and Swedish data can be found at: http://www.dsv.su.se/hexanord/data/.

Decreased free water clearance is associated with worse respiratory outcomes in premature infants.

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to elucidate predictors of decreased free water clearance (DFWC) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. We hypothesized that DFWC and fluid retention are linked to the severity of pulmonary problems and prolonged respiratory support, especially to nCPAP treatment. METHODS: The investigation was carried out at Tampere University Hospital between 2001 and 2006. The study population comprised 74 VLBW infants born at 29.21 (24.57-34.14) weeks of gestation. Median birth weight was 1175 (575-1490) grams. We measured plasma and urine osmolality and 24-hour urine volume to calculate free water clearance (FWC) for each infant. If FWC was less than 30 ml/kg/day the infant was classified as having DFWC. RESULTS: There were 38 (51.4%) infants with DFWC in the study population. The median duration of the observed DFT period was 14 (4-44) days. The gestational age at birth was lower for DFWC infants compared to infants with normal FWC (NFWC), 28.29 (24.57-32.86) vs. 30.00 (25.57-34.14) weeks (p = 0.001). DFWC infants also needed longer ventilator treatment, 2 (0-23) vs. 0.50 (0-23) days (p = 0.046), nCPAP treatment 30 (0-100) vs. 3 (0-41) days (p<0.0001) and longer oxygen supplementation 47 (0-163) vs. 22 (0-74) days (p = 0.011) than NFWC infants. All values presented here are medians with ranges. CONCLUSIONS: DFWC appears to be frequently connected with exacerbation and prolongation of pulmonary problems in VLBW infants. Cautious fluid administration seems to be indicated in VLBW infants with prolonged respiratory problems and DFWC.