title: Mortality and Length of Stay of Very Low Birth Weight and Very Preterm Infants: A EuroHOPE Study.
abstract: The objective of this paper was to compare health outcomes and hospital care use of very low birth weight (VLBW), and very preterm (VLGA) infants in seven European countries. Analysis was performed on linkable patient-level registry data from seven European countries between 2006 and 2008 (Finland, Hungary, Italy (the Province of Rome), the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden). Mortality and length of stay (LoS) were adjusted for differences in gestational age (GA), sex, intrauterine growth, Apgar score at five minutes, parity and multiple births. The analysis included 16,087 infants. Both the 30-day and one-year adjusted mortality rates were lowest in the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden and Norway) and Scotland and highest in Hungary and the Netherlands. For survivors, the adjusted average LoS during the first year of life ranged from 56 days in the Netherlands and Scotland to 81 days in Hungary. There were large differences between European countries in mortality rates and LoS in VLBW and VLGA infants. Substantial data linkage problems were observed in most countries due to inadequate identification procedures at birth, which limit data validity and should be addressed by policy makers across Europe.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Health and Social Care Management, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Dino
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Numerato
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Health and Social Care Management, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fattore
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Health and Social Care Management, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tediosi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Materno Infantile, Ospedale "A Manzoni", Lecco, Italy.
authors.forename: Rinaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zanini
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health and Social Economics, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peltola
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Health and Social Care Management, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.affiliation: Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mihalicza
authors.affiliation: Turku University Hospital and Turku University, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
authors.affiliation: Medical Management Centre, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sveréus
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heijink
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Health Economics, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Søren Toksvig
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Klitkou
authors.affiliation: Lothian Analytical Services, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, Scotland.
authors.forename: Eilidh
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: The EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Amber van der
authors.initials: Av
authors.lastname: Heijden
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Linköping University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lundberg
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eelco
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Over
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health and Social Economics, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Unto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Häkkinen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health and Social Economics, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Timo T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Seppälä
mesh_terms: D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D062071:Infant, Extremely Premature; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007902:Length of Stay; D009026:Mortality; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012042:Registries; D012306:Risk