Back transport of neonates: effect on hospital length of stay.

INTRODUCTION:In a regionalized perinatal system, recovering neonates may be back transported from a regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to community hospitals closer to their residence to convalesce prior to hospital discharge.OBJECTIVE:This study evaluates the practice of neonatal back transport for growth and the duration of total hospitalization.METHODS:We conducted a retrospective study comparing length of stay (LOS) for infants back transported from a regional NICU to a level II nursery for convalescent care (BT), with LOS for infants eligible for back transport discharged home from the Regional Center (RC).RESULTS:A total of 221 infants were studied. BT infants (n=104) had lower birth weights (median; 1955 vs 2700 g, p=0.001), more frequently needed mechanical ventilation (84 vs 65%, p=0.002) and parenteral nutrition (71 vs 55%, p=0.013), less frequently were evaluated by subspecialists (20 vs 59% p=0.0001), and had longer total LOS (median; 20 vs 11 days, p<0.0001) compared to infants discharged home from the RC (n=117). However, in the subgroup with birth weights