Objective

To estimate the association of continuity of neonatologist care with caloric intake and growth velocity (GV) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.

Study design

We created a daily continuity index (DCI) defined as the number of days the neonatologist worked in the previous week. We estimated the independent associations between this index and infants’ daily caloric intake (kcal/kg/day) and GV (g/kg/day) through the first 6 weeks of life using regression analyses.

Results

Twenty-eight neonatologists cared for 115 infants over 4643 patient-days. The DCI was independently associated with increased caloric intake (β = 1.27 kcal/kg/day per each day of continuity, p < 10⁻⁴); this effect was magnified (β = 3.33, p < 10⁻⁴) in the first 2 weeks. No association was observed between the index and GV.

Conclusions

Neonatologist continuity may contribute to caloric intake in VLBW infants. Quality metrics focused on this area of health care delivery warrant further discovery.

中文翻译：

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新生儿重症监护病房连续护理对婴儿热量摄入的影响。

客观的

评估新生儿科护理的连续性与极低出生体重 (VLBW) 婴儿的热量摄入和生长速度 (GV) 之间的关联。

学习规划

我们创建了一个每日连续性指数 (DCI)，定义为新生儿科医生在前一周工作的天数。我们使用回归分析估计了该指数与婴儿在出生后前 6 周的每日热量摄入（千卡/千克/天）和 GV（克/千克/天）之间的独立关联。

结果

28 名新生儿科医生在 4643 个患者日内照顾了 115 名婴儿。DCI 与增加的热量摄入独立相关（β  = 1.27 kcal/kg/天/连续每天，p  < 10 ^-4）；这种效果在前两周被放大（β  = 3.33，p  < 10 ^-4）。没有观察到指数和 GV 之间的关联。

结论

新生儿科医生的连续性可能有助于 VLBW 婴儿的热量摄入。专注于医疗保健服务领域的质量指标值得进一步探索。