Habilitation of very preterm infants at a Post Acute Care Inpatient Rehabilitation (PACIR) center after neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate whether Post-Acute Care Inpatient Rehabilitation (PACIR) admission after NICU stay affects the total length of stay (LOS) of very preterm (VPT: ≤30 weeks of gestation) infants.

Methods: A retrospective case control study of VPT infants d/c’d from the NICU at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital (MFCH) to either a PACIR (Blythedale Children’s Hospital: BH) for convalescent care (cases) or directly home (controls).

Results: 35 cases and 70 controls. Total LOS (MFCH + BH) was longer for cases [196 vs. 97 days]. At the time of d/c from MFCH, Special Health Care Needs (SHCN) amongst cases were greater than controls, however, became similar at the time of home d/c. The majority of cases achieved habilitation goals at the PACIR.

Conclusions: Although LOS was longer for patients transferred to a PACIR, habilitation at BH Hospital reduced the SHCN at the time of home d/c amongst cases.

KEYWORDS:

• Preterm infants
• Post-acute care inpatient rehabilitation
• Length of stay
• Complexity of care
• Habilitation

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.