title: Hospital, infants and feeding: The importance of audit.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Infant feeding can be the reason for presentation and/or admission to hospital. The aim of this study was to identify if infant feeding history was documented in charts of infants presenting and/or admitted to a paediatric hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic random sample of hospital charts of infants who had presented to the emergency department between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012 was audited for presence of documentation of feeding.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 465 charts were audited, representing 12.5% of infants who presented to the emergency department in the year. Frequency of documentation for feeding measures was as follows: feeding mode, 263 (57%); feeding type, 228 (49%); feeding frequency, 119 (26%); and with changes 89 (19%) since birth. Increasing infant age was significantly associated with less frequent recording of feeding mode, type, frequency and changes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A comprehensive feeding history is not recorded on many occasions of infant presentation and/or admission to hospital. The recording of feeding mode, type, frequency and changes is needed in order to explore the existence, or otherwise, of a relationship between feeding and the reason for presentation and/or admission.
authors.affiliation: Children's Nutrition Research Centre, Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Lesley Alison
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0446-1774
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Ware
authors.affiliation: Children's Nutrition Research Centre, Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter S W
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Davies
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D019959:Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011793:Queensland; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: audit; developed country; feeding; hospital; infant