Early neonatal discharge guidelines: Have we dropped the ball?
| Autor: | T J T Kennedy, Krista Jangaard, Laura K Purcell |
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| Rok vydání: | 2001 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Paediatrics & Child Health. 6:769-772 |
| ISSN: | 1918-1485 1205-7088 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/pch/6.10.769 |
| Popis: | The length of hospital stays following normal term delivery has decreased dramatically over the past few decades in North America. The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) defines early postpartum discharge as occurring less than 48 h after uncomplicated, term, vaginal delivery (1). Numerous studies in the past five decades have evaluated various outcomes following early postnatal discharge, including neonatal readmission rates (2,3), neonatal mortality rates (4) and emergency room visits (5,6). Review papers have concluded that it remains unknown whether early neonatal discharge is a safe and efficacious practice (7,8). In 1996, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (SOGC) and the CPS released a joint statement that outlined recommendations designed to ensure that early neonatal discharge is implemented as safely and effectively as possible (1). These guidelines recommend that in-home follow-up by a health care professional occur within 48 h of hospital discharge, followed by physician assessment within one week (1). They further recommend that preparation for discharge, including information on infant feeding and detection of neonatal problems be provided as part of the normal antenatal education of all expectant parents (1). To date, no studies have investigated whether the guidelines achieve their purpose or whether they are actually followed by primary care physicians. The aim of the present study was to determine patterns of prenatal education and follow-up by family physicians, and to assess whether these practices comply with the CPS/SOGC guidelines for early neonatal discharge. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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