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Updated: Feb 11, 2026
Hemodynamic Precision in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit using Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography
Published on: January 27, 2023
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Length of Stay Reduction by Heart Rate Characteristics Monitoring
Jonathan R Swanson1, William E King2, Robert A Sinkin1
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
Objective:
To examine the effect of heart rate characteristics (HRC) monitoring on length of stay among very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g birth weight) neonates in the HeRO randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Study Design:
We performed a retrospective analysis of length of stay metrics among 3 subpopulations (all patients, all survivors, and survivors with positive blood or urine cultures) enrolled in a multicenter, RCT of HRC monitoring.
Results:
Among all patients in the RCT, infants randomized to receive HRC monitoring were more likely than controls to be discharged alive and prior to day 120 (83.6% vs 80.1%, P = .014). The postmenstrual age at discharge for survivors with positive blood or urine cultures was 3.2 days lower among infants randomized to receive HRC monitoring when compared with controls (P = .026). Although there were trends in other metrics toward reduced length of stay in HRC-monitored patients, none reached statistical significance.
Conclusions:
HRC monitoring is associated with reduced mortality in VLBW patients and a reduction in length of stay among infected surviving VLBW infants.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00307333.
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