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NEJM: Volume and Level of Care Impact Outcomes in NICUs The number of infants a NICU cares for and what level of care many of them receive there impacts how well an infant will fare in that NICU. That’s the main conclusion of a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The authors also state that lower mortality rates may result from directing more very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants to facilities with NICUs that have both a high level of care and a high volume of VLBW infants. The numbers of NICUs in community hospitals is on the rise. “Level and Volume of Neonatal Intensive Care and Mortality in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants” examines differences in neonatal mortality among infants with very low birth weight (below 1500 g) among NICUs with various levels of care and different volumes of very-low-birth-weight infants. Mortality among VLBW infants was lowest for deliveries that occurred in hospitals with NICUs that had both a high level of care and a high volume of such patients. Read the full article at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/356/21/2165. [7/07] |