Influence of in-home nursing care on the weight of the early discharged preterm newborn

• Published in: Anales de pediatría (Barcelona, Spain : 2003) Vol. 81; no. 6; pp. 352 - 359
• Main Authors: Alvarez Miró, R, Lluch Canut, M T, Figueras Aloy, J, Esqué Ruiz, M T, Arroyo Gili, L, Bella Rodríguez, J, Carbonell Estrany, X
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Body Weight; Case-Control Studies; Female; Home Care Services; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature - physiology; Length of Stay; Male; Patient Discharge - statistics & numerical data; Weight Gain; Crecimiento posnatal; Prematuridad; Postnatal growth; Prematurity; Nursing home care; Early discharge; Alta precoz; Asistencia domiciliaria de enfermería
• ISSN: 1695-9531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anpedi.2013.10.024

In-Home nursing care of the preterm newborn helps to bring the family situation to normal, promotes breastfeeding and development of the newborn, and enables the reorganization of health care resources. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that in-home nursing care of the preterm newborn leads to an increase in weight and a similar morbidity. A total of 65 cases and 65 controls (matched by weight, age and sex) were studied, all of them preterm newborns born in hospital and weighing less than 2100 g at discharge. In-home nursing care was carried out by a pediatrician neonatologist, as well as two nurses specialized in neonatology who made several visits to the home. Weight gain was calculated as g/day and g/Kg/day, comparing the first week of the study with the week prior to the beginning of the study. The groups were comparable. Weight gain in the group with home nursing care was 38 g per day, significantly higher than the weight gain in the control group (31 g/day). The independent predictive variables of the increase in g/Kg/day during the study were in-home nursing care, male gender, breastfeeding less, and not having suffered from a peri-intraventricular hemorrhage. Neonatal morbidity was similar in both groups. In-home care was associated with a greater weight gain of the newborn at home than during their stay in the hospital, and can be considered safe because neonatal morbidity was not increased.