Outcomes and resource utilization for newborns with major congenital malformations: The initial nicu admission

Abstract

HYPOTHESIS:Newborns with major congenital malformations (MCM) have contributed to a significant proportion of resource utilization in a regional referral neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).SETTING:The Children’s Hospital Medical Center NICU, Cincinnati, OH.SUBJECTS:Newborns with and without MCM admitted from August 1, 1993 through July 31, 1994. Total patients studied were 572; 147 with and 385 without MCM. No intervention was performed in this observational study.STATISTICS:Statistics were t test, chi-squared, and rank sum analysis.RESULTS:MCM accounted for 27.6% of NICU referrals, 32.4% of total NICU days, and 39.6% of NICU costs. Both median cost per patient and length of stay were significantly (p < 0.01) higher for patients with MCM than those without MCM. Surgery was more frequent in MCM than non-MCM cases. Thirty-three percent of the newborns with MCM received ongoing medical support at discharge.CONCLUSION:Patients with MCM remain as one of the largest and costliest groups hospitalized in a referral NICU. © 1999 Stockton Press. All rights reserved.