학술논문
The effect of patient volume on mortality and morbidity of extremely low birth weight infants in Taiwan
Document Type
article
Author
Source
Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, Vol 122, Iss 11, Pp 1199-1207 (2023)
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
0929-6646
Abstract
Background: To assess whether the number of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants treated annually in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Taiwan affects the mortality and morbidity of this patient population. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included preterm infants with ELBW (≤1000 g). NICUs were divided into three subgroups according to the annual admissions of ELBW infants (low, ≤10; medium, 11–25; and high, >25). Perinatal characteristics, mortality, and short-term morbidities were compared between groups. Results: A total of 1945 ELBW infants from 17 NICUs were analyzed (low-volume, n = 263; medium-volume, n = 420; and high-volume, n = 1262). After risk adjustments, infants from NICUs with low patient volumes were at a higher risk of death. The risk-adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for mortality were 0.61 (95% CI, 0.43–0.86) in the high-volume NICUs and 0.65 (95% CI, 0.43–0.98) in medium-volume NICUs, compared with infants admitted to low-volume NICUs. Infants in medium-volume NICUs had the lowest incidence of prenatal steroid exposure (58.1%, P