Observational studyNeonatology2015
Cost savings of human milk as a strategy to reduce the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis in very low birth weight infants.
Observational study in Neonatology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.
- Socioeconomic disparities in the postnatal growth of preterm infants: a systematic review.Pediatric research · 2025Pooled it
- Economic evaluations of human milk for very preterm infants: a systematic review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Understanding the Domains of Experiences of Black Mothers with Preterm Infants in the United States: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2023Pooled it
- Quality Improvement to Increase Breastfeeding in Preterm Infants: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2021Pooled it
- Protective effects of different doses of human milk on neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis.Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- The Impact of Human Milk on Necrotizing Enterocolitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Milk Feeding and Morbidity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants.Nutrients · 2018Pooled it
- Trial
- New biomarkers to predict the need for surgery of necrotizing enterocolitis: a study based on abdominal X-ray radiomics and machine learning.Biomedical engineering online · 2025Article
- Implementation of a partnership involving parents in the care of critically ill children: an integrative review.Acute and critical care · 2025Article
- Milk temperature reducing necrotizing enterocolitis in very preterm infants: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Article
- Mother's Own Milk Provision During the First 12 Weeks of Life by Gestational Age.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- The Unsung Heroes: The Profile of the Donor at a Southern Italian Milk Bank and Driving Factors in Human Milk Donation.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Point-of-care human milk concentration by passive osmosis: comprehensive analysis of fresh human milk samples.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2024Article
- The economic cost consequences of suboptimal infant and young child feeding practices: a scoping review.Health policy and planning · 2024Article
- Thai novice nurses' lived experiences and perspectives of breastfeeding and human milk in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).International breastfeeding journal · 2024Article
- Where does the time go? Temporal patterns of pumping behaviors in mothers of very preterm infants vary by sociodemographic and clinical factors.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNecrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a costly morbidity in very low birth weight (VLBW; <1,500 g birth weight) infants that increases hospital length of stay and requires expensive treatments.
objectivesTo evaluate the cost of NEC as a function of dose and exposure period of human milk (HM) feedings received by VLBW infants during the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization and determine the drivers of differences in NICU hospitalization costs for infants with and without NEC.
methodsThis study included 291 VLBW infants enrolled in an NIH-funded prospective observational cohort study between February 2008 and July 2012. We examined the incidence of NEC, NICU hospitalization cost, and cost of individual resources used during the NICU hospitalization.
resultsTwenty-nine (10.0%) infants developed NEC. The average total NICU hospitalization cost (in 2012 USD) was USD 180,163 for infants with NEC and USD 134,494 for infants without NEC (p = 0.024). NEC was associated with a marginal increase in costs of USD 43,818, after controlling for demographic characteristics, risk of NEC, and average daily dose of HM during days 1-14 (p < 0.001). Each additional ml/kg/day of HM during days 1-14 decreased non-NEC-related NICU costs by USD 534 (p < 0.001).
conclusionsAvoidance of formula and use of exclusive HM feedings during the first 14 days of life is an effective strategy to reduce the risk of NEC and resulting NICU costs in VLBW infants. Hospitals investing in initiatives to feed exclusive HM during the first 14 days of life could substantially reduce NEC-related NICU hospitalization costs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.