Early discharge and hospital-assisted home care is associated with better neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants.

To compare hospital-assisted neonatal home care and standard hospital care for preterm newborns on neurodevelopment at 2 years corrected age, as well as duration of hospitalization, breastmilk rates, and readmissions before 1 year. This observational study enrolled 415 inborn neonates <34 At two years corrected age, infants in home care had 61% less risk of overall low ASQ ≤220 (OR = 0.4 [0.3-0.5], p < 0.001) and 31-80% less risk of low scores in four out of five domains compared to standard care. Home care was associated with shorter hospital stays (- 9 days; p < 0.001), higher breastmilk rates at final discharge (OR = 3.6 [2.8-4.6], p < 0.001 for singletons and OR = 2.3 [1.6-3.1], p < 0.001 for multiples), and more breastmilk feeding for at least six months (OR = 1.8 [1.3-2.3], p < 0.001 for singletons, OR = 3.6 [2.1-6.3], p < 0.001 for multiples). Readmissions also occurred less frequently with home care than with standard care, except for twins (OR = 0.7 [0.6-0.8], p < 0.001). Hospital-assisted neonatal home care for preterm infants was associated with better neurodevelopment at 2 years corrected age, shorter duration of hospitalization, and higher rates of breastmilk feeding at 6 months.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.