Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38268423›Full record

Observational studyPediatrics2024

Transfer Patterns Among Infants Born at 28 to 34 Weeks' Gestation.

Sara C Handley, Elizabeth G Salazar, Sarah N Kunz, Scott A Lorch, Erika M Edwards

Registry-linked trialAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Pediatrics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01825499 (Vermont Oxford Network Very Low Birth Weight Database of Infants <=1500 Grams or <=29 Weeks Gestational Age at Birth), which is not on this map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT01825499 recruitingnot on this map

Vermont Oxford Network Very Low Birth Weight Database of Infants <=1500 Grams or <=29 Weeks Gestational Age at Birth

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorVermont Oxford NetworkRan1990 to 2040Enrolled60,000ConditionsNeonatologyArmsRegistry
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Guideline
  2. Pooled it
  3. Effects of a respiratory care protocol incorporating less invasive surfactant administration in infants born at 30-34 weeks' gestation.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Sara C HandleyDivision of Neonatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth G SalazarDivision of Neonatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sarah N KunzDivision of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Scott A LorchDivision of Neonatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Erika M EdwardsVermont Oxford Network, Burlington, Vermont.

Funding

Training in Critical Care Health Policy ResearchT32HL098054 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI Scott D Halpern · 2010 to 2026
$8.2M
Quantification of neonatal transport networks through network analysis: a new approach to studying neonatal regionalizationK08HS025749 · AHRQ · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI KUNZ, SARAH NICOLE · 2018 to 2022
$752k
The impact of delivery hospital organizational structure and culture on perinatal outcomesK23HD109426 · NICHD · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · PI Sara Christine Handley · 2023 to 2026
$621k
AHRQ HHS K08 HS025749NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL098054NICHD NIH HHS K23 HD109426
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough postnatal transfer patterns among high-risk (eg, extremely preterm or surgical) infants have been described, transfer patterns among lower-risk populations are unknown. The objective was to examine transfer frequency, indication, timing, and trajectory among very and moderate preterm infants.

methodsObservational study of the US Vermont Oxford Network all NICU admissions database from 2016 to 2021 of inborn infants 280/7 to 346/7 weeks. Infants' first transfer was assessed by gestational age, age at transfer, reason for transfer, and transfer trajectory.

resultsAcross 467 hospitals, 294 229 infants were eligible, of whom 12 552 (4.3%) had an initial disposition of transfer. The proportion of infants transferred decreased with increasing gestational age (9.6% [n = 1415] at 28 weeks vs 2.4% [n = 2646] at 34 weeks) as did the median age at time of transfer (47 days [interquartile range 30-73] at 28 weeks vs 8 days [interquartile range 3-16] at 34 weeks). The median post menstrual age at transfer was 34 or 35 weeks across all gestational ages. The most common reason for transfer was growth or discharge planning (45.0%) followed by medical and diagnostic services (30.2%), though this varied by gestation. In this cohort, 42.7% of transfers were to a higher-level unit, 10.2% to a same-level unit, and 46.7% to a lower-level unit, with indication reflecting access to specific services.

conclusionsOver 4% of very and moderate preterm infants are transferred. In this population, the median age of transfer is later and does not reflect immediate care needs after birth, but rather the provision of risk-appropriate care.

Indexed as

Infant, PrematureFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfantInfant, NewbornPregnancyRisk FactorsVermont

Identifiers

PMID38268423
PMCPMC10827647

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.