Risk-adjusted/neuroprotective care services in the NICU: the elemental role of the neonatal therapist (OT, PT, SLP).

Infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) require carefully designed risk-adjusted management encompassing a broad spectrum of neonatal subgroups. Key components of an optimal neuroprotective healing NICU environment are presented to support consistent quality of care delivery across NICU settings and levels of care. This article presents a perspective on the role of neonatal therapists-occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists-in the provision of elemental risk-adjusted neuroprotective care services. In alignment with professional organization competency recommendations from these disciplines, a broad overview of neonatal therapy services is described. Recognizing the staffing budget as one of the more difficult challenges hospital department leaders face, the authors present a formula-based approach to address staff allocations for neonatal therapists working in NICU settings. The article has been reviewed and endorsed by the National Association of Neonatal Therapists, National Association of Neonatal Nurses, and the National Perinatal Association.

Differential effects of delivery hospital on mortality and morbidity in minority premature and low birth weight neonates.

OBJECTIVE: To describe variation in mortality and morbidity effects of high-level, high-volume delivery hospital between racial/ethnic groups and insurance groups. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort including infants born at 24-32 weeks gestation or birth weights ≤2500 g in California, Missouri, and Pennsylvania between 1995 and 2009 (n = 636,764). Multivariable logistic random-effects models determined differential effects of birth hospital level/volume on mortality and morbidity through an interaction term between delivery hospital level/volume and either maternal race or insurance status. RESULT: Compared to non-Hispanic white neonates, odds of complications of prematurity were 14-25% lower for minority infants in all gestational age and birth weight cohorts delivering at high-level, high-volume centers (odds ratio (ORs) 0.75-0.86, p < 0.001-0.005). Effect size was greatest for Hispanic infants. No difference was noted by insurance status. CONCLUSIONS: Neonates of minority racial/ethnic status derive greater morbidity benefits than non-Hispanic white neonates from delivery at hospitals with high-level, high-volume neonatal intensive care units.

Admission volume is associated with mortality of neonatal respiratory failure in emerging neonatal intensive care units.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this survey was to explore the relationship between admission volume and mortality of neonates with hypoxemic respiratory failure (NRF) in emerging neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). METHODS: NRF from 55 NICUs were retrospectively included with death risk as the major outcome. Perinatal comorbidities, underlying disease severity, respiratory support, facility utilization, and economic burden in the early postnatal period were compared among five NICU admission volume categories defined by NRF incidence, with score for neonatal acute physiology perinatal extension II (SNAPPE-II) also assessed as initial severity. RESULTS: Compared to NICUs with NRF < 50 cases/year, NRF incidence, NRF/NICU, NRF/NICU admissions, and magnitude of ventilator use were several times higher, and mortality rates 20-50% lower, in NICUs of 150-199 and ≥200 cases/year (p < .01), even after adjustment with SNAPPE-II in stratified ranges. Median SNAPPE-II values, which correlated with the death rate of NRF (r = .282, p < .001), were lower in NICUs of 150-199 and ≥200 than in <50, 50-99, and 100-149 categories (13 versus 18, p < .01). NRF mortalities were not correlated with the proportion of very low birth weight patients in each category. CONCLUSIONS: Neonates in NICUs with smaller NRF admission volume and decreased magnitude of ventilator use had a higher risk of death as assessed by SNAPPE-II, which should be targeted in the quality improvement of newly established, resource-limited NICUs.

Ventilatory practices in extremely low birth weight infants in a level III neonatal intensive care unit.

INTRODUCTION: Although non-invasive forms of ventilation have recently spread in neonatology, invasive ventilation still plays a key role in the support of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. The purpose of this study was to assess changes in neonatal ventilation practices for ELBW infants and compare outcomes between two epochs (2005-2009 vs. 2010-2015) to analyze progression stemming from the implementation of newer clinical guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study with data collection from all ELBW infants born between 2005 and 2015 in our center through their individual clinical records. The main outcome was the prevalence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in both periods. Assessment of other morbidities and survival were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: A hundred and thirty-one infants were included; median gestational age of 27 weeks (23-33) and mean birth weight of 794.58g (±149.37). Invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) was performed on 103 (78.6%) infants. Non-significant increases in the use of non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) were observed between epochs both exclusively and following IMV. In conventional ventilation there were significant variations between epochs, namely a decrease in synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV) and a major growth in the addition of volume guarantee (VG). Significant decreases in BPD (from 50.9% to 32.0%) and cystic periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL) (from 27.5% to 10.7%) were observed between epochs, with no major changes in other morbidities and survival. CONCLUSION: Changes in our neonatal intensive care unit's ventilatory practices according to the most up-to-date guidelines, have led to a decrease in BPD and cPVL, over an 11-year period.

Systematic Changes to Help Parentsof Medically Complex Infants Manage Medical Expenses.

BACKGROUND: Financial obligations serve as an added source of stress and burden for parents of medically complex infants that have extended hospitalizations in the neonatal intensive care unit. Financial resources and support personnel are available to assist parents, but systems must be in place to help access these services. When neonatal intensive care unit nurses work collaboratively with financial support personnel, they improve families' access to financial resources. PURPOSE: The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to increase and facilitate timely parent referrals to health benefits coordinators (HBCs). METHODS/SEARCH STRATEGY: Utilizing the Plan-Do-Study Act framework, the hospital's current system for HBC referrals was revised utilizing 3 Plan-Do-Study Act cycles. FINDINGS/RESULTS: A substantial increase in the percentage of HBC referrals, from preimplementation of less than 5% to a sustained average of 90% was observed. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: A simple, sustainable screening process was successfully created to identify families with primary health insurance who qualified for coordination of benefits. This resulted in a significant increase in the number of HBC referrals. Minimal time is now required for the multidisciplinary team to ensure that parents, eligible for referral, are identified as soon as possible. Early identification and timely referral to the HBC may lessen the financial burden for families caring for children with medically complex long-term care needs by securing secondary insurance and other resources. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Research focused on the financial impact of the HBC role is needed.

[Single Patient Room Design in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - Parent Perceptions of Open Ward vs. Single Patient Room Units]. / Die Einrichtung von Einzelzimmern auf neonatologischen Intensivstationen - Auswirkungen auf die Betreuung aus Sicht der Eltern.

BACKGROUND: Single patient room design is not yet implemented in German neonatal intensive care units. Surveys from other countries revealed positive and negative implications on the staff, the patients and their families. The survey examines the perceptions of parents who experienced both facilities - the traditional multipatient ward and the individual patient room - during their babies' hospital stays. METHODS: A standardized questionnaire was used to assess the perceptions of parents. The results were compared to international surveys. RESULTS: During their stay in the single patient room, parents noticed improvements in privacy and data protection and a reduction in harmful environmental stimuli affecting their babies. These results are comparable to those of international surveys. CONCLUSIONS: Single patient room design is mostly perceived as an improvement by parents. The room design can complement an implemented concept of developmental and family-centered care.

Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography: a survey of practices in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) is a simplified method for continuous monitoring of brain activity in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our objective was to describe current aEEG use in the United States. STUDY DESIGN: An online survey was distributed to the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Perinatal Pediatrics' list serve. RESULT: A total of 654 surveys were received; 55% of respondents reported using aEEG. aEEG was utilized more often in academic and levels III and IV NICUs; hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and suspected seizures were the most common indications for use. aEEG was primarily interpreted by neonatologists (87%), with approximately half reporting either self-teaching or hospital-based training for interpretation. For those not using aEEG, uncertain clinical benefit (40%) and cost (17%) were reported as barriers to use. CONCLUSION: More than half of neonatologists utilize aEEG, with practice variation by NICU setting. Barriers to wider adoption include education regarding potential benefit, training, and cost.

Perinatal outcomes for extremely preterm babies in relation to place of birth in England: the EPICure 2 study.

BACKGROUND: Expertise and resources may be important determinants of outcome for extremely preterm babies. We evaluated the effect of place of birth and perinatal transfer on survival and neonatal morbidity within a prospective cohort of births between 22 and 26 weeks of gestation in England during 2006. METHODS: We studied the whole population of 2460 births where the fetus was alive at the admission of the mother to hospital for delivery. Outcomes to discharge were compared between level 3 (most intensive) and level 2 maternity services, with and without transfers, and by activity level of level 3 neonatal unit; ORs were adjusted for gestation at birth and birthweight for gestation (adjusted ORs (aOR)). FINDINGS: Of this national birth cohort, 56% were born in maternity services with level 3 and 34% with level 2 neonatal units; 10% were born in a setting without ongoing intensive care facilities (level 1). When compared with level 2 settings, risk of death in level 3 services was reduced (aOR 0.73 (95% CI 0.59 to 0.90)), but the proportion surviving without neonatal morbidity was similar (aOR 1.27 (0.93 to 1.74)). Analysis by intended hospital of birth confirmed reduced mortality in level 3 services. Following antenatal transfer into a level 3 setting, there were fewer intrapartum or labour ward deaths, and overall mortality was higher for those remaining in level 2 services (aOR 1.44 (1.09 to 1.90)). Among level 3 services, those with higher activity had fewer deaths overall (aOR 0.68 (0.52 to 0.89)). INTERPRETATION: Despite national policy, only 56% of births between 22 and 26 weeks of gestation occurred in maternity services with a level 3 neonatal facility. Survival was significantly enhanced following birth in level 3 services, particularly those with high activity; this was not at the cost of increased neonatal morbidity.

Characteristics of neonatal units that care for very preterm infants in Europe: results from the MOSAIC study.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare guidelines for level III units in 10 European regions and analyze the characteristics of neonatal units that care for very preterm infants. METHODS: The MOSAIC (Models of Organising Access to Intensive Care for Very Preterm Births) project combined a prospective cohort study on all births between 22 and 31 completed weeks of gestation in 10 European regions and a survey of neonatal unit characteristics. Units that admitted > or = 5 infants at < 32 weeks of gestation were included in the analysis (N = 111). Place of hospitalization of infants who were admitted to neonatal care was analyzed by using the cohort data (N = 4947). National or regional guidelines for level III units were reviewed. RESULTS: Six of 9 guidelines for level III units included minimum size criteria, based on number of intensive care beds (6 guidelines), neonatal admissions (2), ventilated patients (1), obstetric intensive care beds (1), and deliveries (2). The characteristics of level III units varied, and many were small or unspecialized by recommended criteria: 36% had fewer than 50 very preterm annual admissions, 22% ventilated fewer than 50 infants annually, and 28% had fewer than 6 intensive care beds. Level II units were less specialized, but some provided mechanical ventilation (57%) or high-frequency ventilation (20%) or had neonatal surgery facilities (17%). Sixty-nine percent of level III and 36% of level I or II units had continuous medical coverage by a qualified pediatrician. Twenty-two percent of infants who were < 28 weeks of gestation were treated in units that admitted fewer than 50 very preterm infants annually (range: 2%-54% across the study regions). CONCLUSIONS: No consensus exists in Europe about size or other criteria for NICUs. A better understanding of the characteristics associated with high-quality neonatal care is needed, given the high proportion of very preterm infants who are cared for in units that are considered small or less specialized by many recommendations.

Levels of neonatal care.

The concept of designations for hospital facilities that care for newborn infants according to the level of complexity of care provided was first proposed in 1976. Subsequent diversity in the definitions and application of levels of care has complicated facility-based evaluation of clinical outcomes, resource allocation and utilization, and service delivery. We review data supporting the need for uniform nationally applicable definitions and the clinical basis for a proposed classification based on complexity of care. Facilities that provide hospital care for newborn infants should be classified on the basis of functional capabilities, and these facilities should be organized within a regionalized system of perinatal care.

The effect of insurance status on likelihood of neonatal interhospital transfer.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of insurance status on the likelihood of interhospital transfer for neonates. DESIGN: Population-based retrospective cohort study. SETTING: All general acute care nonpediatric hospitals in the five counties of southeastern Pennsylvania. PATIENTS: Fifty-six thousand, seven hundred eighty-nine infants from 0 to 28 days of age admitted to or born in study hospitals between January 1 and December 31, 1991. INTERVENTION: None. MAINS OUTCOME MEASURE: Transfer to another general or specialty acute care hospital. RESULTS: The incidence (95% confidence interval) of interhospital transfer was 1.69% (1.60, 1.78). Uninsured infants were nearly twice as likely [relative risk (RR) = 1.96 (1.67, 2.31)] to be transferred as commercially insured infants, even when adjusted for the effects of prematurity, severity of illness, and the level of neonatal intensive care unit in the referring hospital. Similarly, infants with Medicaid were more likely to be transferred [RR = 1.20 (1.01, 1.43)] than similar commercially insured neonates. Uninsured and publicly insured infants were also more likely to be born premature [RR 1.49 (1.39, 1. 60)] than privately insured neonates, and were more likely to have both moderate [RR 1.11 (1.04, 1.23)] and high [RR 1.21 (1.11, 1.32)] illness severity on admission to the hospital than privately insured infants. CONCLUSIONS: Neonates with no insurance and those with Medicaid coverage were more likely to be transferred than infants with private insurance. These results are consistent with those of other investigators who have studied financially motivated patient transfers- so-called patient dumping-in nonpediatric populations of patients. Our study may represent the first documentation of this phenomenon in a pediatric population. Our results are also consistent with those of other investigators who have examined the effect of insurance status on maternal interhospital transfer, thus providing further evidence for the existence of financially motivated transfers within regional systems of perinatal care. Future investigation into the effect of economic factors on variation in the utilization of transport services, and on how transfer influences ultimate patient outcome, is needed as managed care health systems become more widespread.

Limitation of private attending pediatricians' neonatal intensive care privileges in level III institutions throughout the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the privileges of Private Attending Pediatricians (PAP) in caring for newborns requiring intensive (ITC), intermediate (IMC), or continuing (CC) care in Level III neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) throughout the United States. DESIGN: A two-page mail questionnaire was sent to 429 Level III NICUs to obtain the statement best describing the PAPs' privileges, the number of PAP, and some of the PAPs' functions. Level III NICUs were classified by geographic region as Eastern, Central, or Western United States. RESULTS: Responses were received from 301 NICUs (70%) representing 48 states, the District of Columbia, and > 9000 PAP. Twenty-two institutions had no PAP. In the remaining 279 institutions, 96% (267/279) had restricted the PAPs' privileges partially or completely. In 32% (88/279), the PAP were not allowed to render any type of NICU care. In 18% (51/279) of the institutions, the PAP were allowed to render CC only. In 27% (76/279) of the institutions, the PAP were allowed to render IMC and CC only. Limitation of PAPs' privileges were reported in all geographic areas in the U.S., were more pronounced in the Eastern than the Central or Western sections of the country, and were noted in institutions with small (< or = 10) as well as large (> or = 60) numbers of PAP. Limitation of PAPs' privileges was determined by the PAP him/herself in many institutions. Proficiency in resuscitation was considered to be a needed skill. Communication with parents of an infant under the care of a neonatologist was encouraged. CONCLUSIONS: The PAPs' privileges were limited partially or completely in most Level III NICUs. Knowledge of this restricted role impacts significantly on curriculum design for pediatric house officers, number and type of health care providers required for Level III NICUs and future house officer's career choices.

Shortfall of equipment for neonatal intensive care and the introduction of budget holding contracts.

As adequate allowance must be made for the costs of purchasing, maintaining, and updating equipment during the development of contracts the current standing of neonatal units with regard to available equipment was assessed. Data were collected as part of a one year prospective survey of the 17 perinatal units in the Trent region. Adequacy of provision of equipment for recognised intensive care cost was assessed using the recommendations of the British Paediatric Association and British Association of Perinatal Paediatrics. It was assumed that units without recognised intensive care cost had to be able to equip one cot to a standard of intensive care level 1 in the short term. Equipment more than 5 years old was considered likely to warrant replacement or major maintenance within the next two years. With these guidelines over 600,000 pounds would be required to provide sufficient equipment for all recognised level 1 intensive care cost and to allow units without funded cost to provide this level of care in the short term and to replace existing equipment more than 5 years old for these cost alone. This amount could be reduced by 25% by subdividing intensive care cost into levels 1 and 2, thereby reducing equipment requirements, but this would impair the units' ability to perform level 1 care at funded provision, which has already been shown to need expansion. Neither figure takes account of equipment requirements for infants requiring special care. In addition, no allowance has been made for purchase or update of ultrasound scanners or blood gas analysers. If the government's proposed reforms are to be implemented clinicians need to revise guidelines regarding essential equipment, and plans must be made to correct any existing shortfalls so that they do not become inherited financial liabilities for future budget holders.

Comparison of neonatal mortality rates between transports to tertiary and intermediate neonatal intensive care units.

The differential of neonatal mortality rates between infant transports to tertiary and to intermediate neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) was examined based on 8,391 one-time infant transports from community hospitals to tertiary or intermediate NICUs in Southern California in the three-year period 1981-1983. Among the demographic, birth and delivery, and diagnostic characteristics studied, nine were identified to be related significantly to the higher neonatal mortality rate among transports to tertiary NICUs: birthweight, gestational age, necessity of intubation, multiple clinical conditions, presence of cardiac, neurologic, and genitourinary problems, anomalies, and syndromes. Adjusting for differences in the number of cases with necessity of intubation and the presence of the five clinical problems reduced the neonatal mortality ratio of tertiary to intermediate NICUs from 1:56 to 1:01, while adjustment for birthweight and gestational age differences reduced the ratio from 1.56 to 1.54. This analysis indicates that the difference of neonatal mortality between the two levels of NICUs can be explained to a larger extent by the higher proportion of infants requiring intubation with serious clinical problems. Birthweight and gestational age played only a minor role in this respect.

Survival of low-birthweight infants in a Queensland provincial centre.

Survival figures over a five-year period of low-birthweight infants (2000 g or less at birth) in two intensive care nurseries in Rockhampton , Queensland, are presented. The units were level 2 nurseries with some level 3 amenities . All live-born infants born in Rockhampton and infants retrieved from outlying areas were included in the study. The survival rate was nil for infants of less than 501 g at birth, 40% for those weighing between 500 and 751 g, 45% for those weighing 750 to 1001 g, 85% for those weighing 1001 to 1501 g and 91% for those weighing 1500 to 2001 g at birth. These results compare favourably with those for some level 3 intensive-care units.