title: Morbidities and hospital resource use during the first 3 years of life among very preterm infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to determine how the use of hospital resources during the first 3 years of life was associated with prematurity-related morbidity in very preterm infants (gestational age of <32 weeks or birth weight of <1501 g).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a retrospective, national register study including all very preterm infants born alive in Finland between 2000 and 2003 (N = 2148). Infants who died before the age of 3 years (n = 264) or who had missing register data (n = 88) were excluded from the study. The relationship between 6 morbidity groups and the need for hospital care during the first 3 years of life was studied by using a negative binomial model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 66.2% of the infants did not have any of the morbidities studied. Infants who were subsequently diagnosed as having cerebral palsy (6.1% of the study group), later obstructive airway disease (20.0%), hearing loss (2.5%), visual disturbances or blindness (3.8%), or other ophthalmologic problems (13.4%) had initial hospital stays that were a mean of 7, 8, 12, 17, and 3 days longer, respectively, than those for infants without these conditions. All morbidity groups were associated with increased numbers of hospital visits during either the second or third year of life, compared with infants without these morbidities. The need for hospitalizations and outpatient hospital care decreased with postnatal age for infants with later morbidities and for infants without later morbidities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most very preterm infants born in Finland survived without severe morbidities and required relatively little hospital care after the initial discharge. However, those with later morbidities had a long initial length of stay and more readmissions and outpatient visits during the 3-year follow-up period.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. emmi.korvenranta@utu.fi
authors: Emmi
authors: E
authors: Korvenranta
authors: Liisa
authors: L
authors: Lehtonen
authors: Mikko
authors: M
authors: Peltola
authors: Unto
authors: U
authors: Häkkinen
authors: Sture
authors: S
authors: Andersson
authors: Mika
authors: M
authors: Gissler
authors: Mikko
authors: M
authors: Hallman
authors: Jaana
authors: J
authors: Leipälä
authors: Liisi
authors: L
authors: Rautava
authors: Outi
authors: O
authors: Tammela
authors: Miika
authors: M
authors: Linna
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000628:therapy; D002657:Child Development; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies