Table 4.

Factors affecting the decision to admit children to the hospital

	Possible discharge	Brief observation	Hospitalization
Respiratory effort	None or mild chest wall retraction	Tracheal tug, nasal flare, Moderate chest wall retraction	Moderate-to-severe respiratory distress, apnea
Oxygen saturation	No supplemental oxygen requirement, saturations > 95%	Saturations 90–95%	Saturations persistently < 90–92%, O2 requirement
Feeding	Normal to slightly decreased	50–75% of normal feeds	<50% of feeds, unable to feed, dehydration
Gestational age	Gestational age >37 weeks, birth age >12 weeks		Gestational age <37 weeks, birth age <6–12 weeks
Responsivity and alertness	Reactive, vigilant		Less or not responsive
Social factors	Good parent compliance, hospital easily accessible		Non-collaborative parents, Distant from hospital
Preexisting risk factors	No risk factors	BPD, cystic fibrosis, cyanogenic congenital heart disease, immunodeficiency, neuromuscular disease	BPD, cystic fibrosis, cyanogenic congenital heart disease, immunodeficiency, neuromuscular disease

BPD bronchopulmonary dysplasia