Korean J Pediatr.  2012 Aug;55(8):272-279. 10.3345/kjp.2012.55.8.272.

Parental concerns about their premature infants' health after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit: a questionnaire survey for anticipated guidance in a neonatal follow-up clinic

• Cho JY
• Lee J
• Youn YA
• Kim SJ
• Kim SY
• Sung IK

• KMID: 2284306
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2012.55.8.272

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to develop an appropriate nursing information guideline according to corrected age, after investigating parents' concerns about the growth, development, and diseases of their premature infants after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
METHODS
The parents of premature infants (birth weight, <2,500 g; gestational age, <37 weeks) who went to a neonatal follow-up clinic after NICU discharge at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital from January 2005 to December 2009, were asked with regard to their concerns about their infants through a questionnaire survey. The results of physical examinations, including body measurements and neurodevelopmental status at 4, 8, 12, and 18 months of corrected age, were retrospectively reviewed in 390 infants.
RESULTS
The most common parental concerns were developmental delay, poor growth, and feeding and nutritional problems. Parental concerns about developmental delay, growth failure in improvement in body weight and length, and overweightness were high in specificity but very low in sensitivity. After NICU discharge, 30% of premature infants experienced infectious diseases before 18 months of corrected age, the most common of which was respiratory tract infection.
CONCLUSION
For guiding of premature infants in outpatient day clinics after NICU discharge, it is necessary to identify the parents' highest concerns, to educate them about the possibilities of growth and neurodevelopmental disabilities in their infants and to provide them with handouts containing guidelines on the management of infectious diseases, especially respiratory infections.

Keyword

Premature infant; Follow-up; Questionnaire; Guidance; Neonatal intensive care units

MeSH Terms

Body Weight
Communicable Diseases
Follow-Up Studies
Gestational Age
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Intensive Care, Neonatal
Outpatients
Overweight
Parents
Physical Examination
Surveys and Questionnaires
Respiratory System
Respiratory Tract Infections
Retrospective Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity