Perinatal predictors of duration and cost of hospitalization for premature infants.
The duration and cost of intensive care for premature infants are important concerns for parents and health providers. We developed a mathematical model to predict length of stay and hospital charges from perinatal information. Length of stay was found to decrease exponentially with gestational age. The equation predicted the length of stay within 10 days in 86% of the cases and had an R2 = .765. Gestational age, the presence of respiratory distress syndrome, and pneumonia were the strongest predictors of hospital charges (R2 = .811). The gestational age threshold below which length and cost of hospitalization were significantly higher was 34 weeks.
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Division of Health Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City 37614, USA.
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D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D017722:Hospital Charges; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000191:economics*; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011014:Pneumonia; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn