TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of transfers from neonatal intensive care to paediatric intensive care
T2 - NICU transfers to PICU
AU - Williams, Emma
AU - Lee, Rebecca
AU - Williams, Nia
AU - Deep, Akash
AU - Subramaniam, Nadisha
AU - Dwarakanathan, Buvana
AU - Dassios, Theodore
AU - Greenough, Anne
N1 - Funding Information:
Research funding: The research was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/6/1
Y1 - 2021/6/1
N2 - Objectives: Infants receiving care from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can develop chronic problems and be transferred to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for ongoing care. There is concern that such infants may take up a large amount of PICU resource, but this is not evidence based. We determined the impact of such transfers. Methods: We reviewed 10 years of NICU admissions to two tertiary PICUs, which had approximately 12,000 admissions during that period. Results: Sixty-seven infants, gestational age at birth 34.7 (IQR 27.1–38.8) weeks and postnatal age on transfer 81 (IQR 9–144) days were admitted from NICUs. The median (IQR) length of stay was 12 (4–41) days. The 19 infants born <28 weeks of gestation had a greater median length of stay (32, range IQR 10–93 days) than more mature born infants (7.5, IQR 4–26 days) (p=0.003). The median cost of PICU stay for NICU transfers was £23,800 (range 1,205–1,034,000) per baby. The total cost of care for infants transferred from NICUs was £6,457,955. Conclusions: Infants transferred from NICUs were a small proportion of PICU admissions but, particularly those born <28 weeks of gestation, had prolonged stays which needs to be considered when determining bed capacity.
AB - Objectives: Infants receiving care from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can develop chronic problems and be transferred to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for ongoing care. There is concern that such infants may take up a large amount of PICU resource, but this is not evidence based. We determined the impact of such transfers. Methods: We reviewed 10 years of NICU admissions to two tertiary PICUs, which had approximately 12,000 admissions during that period. Results: Sixty-seven infants, gestational age at birth 34.7 (IQR 27.1–38.8) weeks and postnatal age on transfer 81 (IQR 9–144) days were admitted from NICUs. The median (IQR) length of stay was 12 (4–41) days. The 19 infants born <28 weeks of gestation had a greater median length of stay (32, range IQR 10–93 days) than more mature born infants (7.5, IQR 4–26 days) (p=0.003). The median cost of PICU stay for NICU transfers was £23,800 (range 1,205–1,034,000) per baby. The total cost of care for infants transferred from NICUs was £6,457,955. Conclusions: Infants transferred from NICUs were a small proportion of PICU admissions but, particularly those born <28 weeks of gestation, had prolonged stays which needs to be considered when determining bed capacity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100583514&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1515/jpm-2021-0022
DO - 10.1515/jpm-2021-0022
M3 - Article
SN - 0300-5577
VL - 49
SP - 630
EP - 631
JO - Journal of Perinatal Medicine
JF - Journal of Perinatal Medicine
IS - 5
ER -
