- Briefly describe a specific question, or set of related questions, about a health care test or treatment that this program should consider.
TOPIC Hospital care of late preterm infants defined as those born between 34 weeks and 0 days of gestation and 36 weeks and 6 days of gestation What is the effect of increased hospital surveillance assessment and targeted interventions on length of hospital stay NICU transfers rehospitalization and morbidlymortality of late preterm infants following dischargeLate preterm infants defined as those born between 34 weeks and 0 days of gestation and 36 weeks and 6 days of gestationBenefits oReduction in hospital readmission for jaundice hyperbilirubinemia dehydration sepsis and respiratory distressoDecrease in neonatal morbidity and mortality Harms oThis population of neonates are often cared for in wellbaby nurseries at a time when they need heightened surveillance and high risk assessment and careoClinicians may miss or not understand the pathophysiologic implications of late preterm birth
- Describe why this topic is important.
Late preterm infants LPIs experience more medical complications after birth than fullterm infants Consortium on Safe Labor 2010 Kitsommart et al. 2009 MedoffCooper HolditchDavis Verklan FraserAskin Lamp SantaDonato Onokpise Soeken Bingham 2012 Pulver et al. 2010 and 36 to 56 of LPIs need neonatal intensive care compared to only 5 to 7 of fullterm infants Consortium on Safe Labor Ishiguro Namai Ito 2009 LubowHow Habli Maxwell Sibai 2009. The mortality rate for LPIs is also higher than that of fullterm infants MacDorman Martin Mathews Hoyert Ventura 2005. More than 30 of LPIs experience feeding difficulties that may lead to dehydration hyperbilirubinemia and rehospitalization Adamkin Dimitriou et al. 2010 Lubow et al. Wang et al. 2004.
- How will an answer to your research question be used or help inform decisions for you or your group?
A systematic review will inform practice quality improvement and patient safety initiatives and potentially validate the importance of heightened surveillance and targeted interventions to improving outcomes and reducing morbidity and mortality in LPIs.
- Other Information About You: (optional)
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- Please choose a description that best describes your role or perspective: (you may select more than one category if appropriate)
- professional society
- If you are you making a suggestion on behalf of an organization, please state the name of the organization
- Association of Womens Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses AWHONNand American College of NurseMidwives ACNM
- Please tell us how you heard about the Effective Health Care Program
- Collaboration with AHRQ to increase nurses awareness and use of the EHC program.
