title: Factors affecting the neonatal intensive care unit stay duration in very low birth weight premature infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Improved survival of very low birth weight (VLBW) premature infants requires urgent intensive care, professional nursing and medical care. On the other hand, long hospital stay period imposes emotional and economic burdens on the family and society. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the most important factors affecting their hospitalization duration to lessen unwanted outcomes of premature birth and to eliminate or relieve the problems.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a descriptive-analytical study, 170 low birth weight premature infants were assessed in a regular daily follow-up in Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. Probable factors affecting NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) stay, such as birth age and weight, time of trophic feeding initiation, time of regain birth weight, and duration of parenteral nutrition, were evaluated. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and linier regression model in SPSS14. Statistical significance was considered at 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean birth weight and age of infants were 1310.26 ± 804.26 g and 30.51 ± 0.34 weeks, respectively. Duration of NICU stay was 14.51 ± 10.12 days. Intrauterine growth retardation, positive C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood culture during hospitalization stay, bloody or bile stained gastric remnants, days to regain birth weight, and total enteral nutrition intolerance were the most important factors affecting NICU stay among the studied infants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems that eliminating risk factors of intrauterine growth retardation during pregnancy, preventing perinatal and nosocomial infections and taking suitable and tolerable feeding strategies will be effective on NICU stay duration in low birth weight premature infants. Therefore, required policies, especially early trophic feeding, are suggested to eliminate the existing difficulties.
authors.affiliation: MSc, Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Akram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niknajad
authors.affiliation: PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Women's Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Morteza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghojazadeh
authors.affiliation: MSc, Instructor, Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Niloufar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sattarzadeh
authors.affiliation: MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Fazileh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bashar Hashemi
authors.affiliation: MSc, Postgraduate Student, Department of Sport Medicine, Faculty of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, University of Te-hran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Farid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dezham Khoy Shahgholi
keywords: Neonatal intensive care; Premature infant; Unit stay; Very low birth weight