Korean J Perinatol.
2012 Jun;23(2):87-94.
The Analysis of High Risk Infant Patients Being Transferred to Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Korea
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Pediatrics, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ped99@naver.com
Abstract
- PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to identify the national status of high risk infants who are being transferred at the neonatal intensive care units (NICU), and to analyze the differences in hospital facility resources and regions.
METHODS
Survey was conducted in 81 of 117 hospital providing NICU in July of 2010. Data included information on number of NICU bed, resources in the NICU and birth place.
RESULTS
Among the patients, 39% were transferred patients and 7.5% were transferred from other regions. In the comparison among the 6 regions, transfer rate was higher in Gyeongin, Chungcheong-Gangwon region and low in Jeolla and Jeju region. According to the multinominal logistic regression analysis, there were more transferred patients when the birth weight was heavier and hospital level and volume was higher. The relative risk ratio of transfer compared to Seoul area was 1.64 in Gyeongin region, 1.68 in Chungcheong-Gangwon region, and 0.63 in Jeolla region. When the each factor was adjusted, the higher number of transfers when there was heavier birth weight and higher level of hospital level and volume remained the same, but the differences among the regions, other than Gyeongin region, had disappeared.
CONCLUSION
The transfer of high risk infants after their birth was usually being made for infants with heavier birth weight to hospitals with higher NICU level and volume, and differences among regions also existed. This kind of differences among regions is primarily due to the differences in the local NICU facilities.
