title: Regionalized long-term follow-up.
abstract: The importance of population-based long-term follow-up studies of geographically determined cohorts to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency and availability of a regionalized perinatal-neonatal care programme is demonstrated by the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group. The survival and quality of survival of consecutively born extremely-low-birthweight infants below 1000 g or extremely preterm infants below 28 weeks' gestation in the state of Victoria were assessed up to 14 years of age over four distinctive eras: 1979-1989, 1985-1987, 1991-1992 and 1997. Both survival and quality-adjusted survival rates rose progressively in all birth weight and gestation subgroups, associated with progressively more such infants being born in level III perinatal centres. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility ratios remained stable overall, with efficiency gains in the smaller infants over time. Regionalized long-term follow-up provides unique information that is not available from institution-based studies, which is vital to the regional organization of perinatal-neonatal care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Ritchie Centre for Baby Health Research, Monash University, Monash Medical Centre, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia. victor.yu@med.monash.edu.au
authors.forename: Victor Y H
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Lex W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Doyle
mesh_terms: D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012041:Regional Medical Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology