Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026
A Swine Model of Neonatal Asphyxia
Published on: October 11, 2011
Back transport of neonates: effect on hospital length of stay
Mohammad A Attar1, Sylvia W Lang, Molly R Gates
1Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, University of Michigan, MI 48109-0254, USA.
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
Conclusions:
BT Infants differed based on clinical features compared to premature infants discharged from the RC. VLBW infants, back transported for growth, had similar total LOS compared to similar weight infants discharged home from the RC.