Table 1.
Characteristics of neonates receiving antibiotics in two different Norwegian neonatal units in 2017.
| Total | University Hospital | District Hospital | p-valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL | ||||
| Patients, n | 593 | 235 | 358 | |
| Patients exposed to antibiotics, n (%) | 184 | 89 (38) | 95 (27) | n/a |
| Courses with antibiotics, n | 208 | 108 | 100 | |
| Prescriptions with antibiotics, n | 1,588 | 903 | 685 | |
| Bed days with antibiotics/total bed days (%, 95% CI) | 856/5,486 (16) | 492/2,714 (18, 17–19) | 364/2,772 (13, 12–14) | n/a |
| Antibiotic exposure first 3 days/number of live births (%, 95% CI) | 150/4,772 (3.1, 2.6–3.6) | 73/2,091 (3.5, 2.7–4.3) | 77/2,681 (2.9, 2.3–3.5) | n/a |
| TERM INFANTS | ||||
| Patients on antibiotics, n (%) | 106 (58) | 39 (44) | 67 (71) | n/a |
| Courses with antibiotics, n (%) | 108 (52) | 40 (37) | 68 (69) | n/a |
| Prescriptions with antibiotics, n (%) | 769 (48) | 301 (33) | 468 (68) | n/a |
| Prophylaxis/treatments, % of courses | 4.6/95.4 | 7.5/92.5 | 2.9/97.1 | 0.278 |
| Male/Female, % of patients | 67/33 | 72/28 | 64/36 | 0.401 |
| Cecirian delivery/vaginal delivery, % of patients | 25/72 | 31/62 | 22/78 | 0.228 |
| GA (weeks), mean (SD) | 39.8 (1.7) | 40.1 (2.0) | 40.0 (1.6) | 0.821 |
| Weigh at start of treatment (g), mean (SD) | 3,798 (616) | 3,823 (615) | 3,774 (616) | 0.701 |
| Antibiotic exposure first 3 days/number of live births (%, 95% CI) | 92/4,470 (2.1, 1.7–2.5) | 36/1,967 (1.8, 1.2–2.4) | 56/2,503 (2.2, 1.6–2.8) | 0.346 |
| PREMATURE INFANTS | ||||
| Patients on antibiotics, n (%) | 40 (22) | 16 (18) | 24 (25) | n/a |
| Courses with antibiotics, n (%) | 42 (20) | 17 (16) | 25 (25) | n/a |
| Prescriptions with antibiotics, n | 281 (18) | 127 (14) | 154 (22) | n/a |
| Prophylaxis/treatments, % of courses | 10/90 | 5.8/94.2 | 8.0/92.0 | 0.670 |
| Male/Female, % of patients | 58/42 | 38/62 | 71/29 | 0.041 |
| Cecirian delivery/vaginal delivery, % of patients | 65/30 | 50/38 | 75/25 | 0.253 |
| GA (weeks), mean (SD) | 32.1 (2.4) | 31.5 (2.3) | 32.7 (2.6) | 0.172 |
| Weigh at start of treatment (g), mean (SD) | 1,872 (747) | 1,481 (537) | 2,115 (758) | 0.004 |
| Antibiotic exposure first 3 days / number of live births (%, 95% CI) | 32/269 (12, 8–16) | 13/95 (14, 7–21) | 19/174 (11, 6–16) | 0.471 |
| EXTREMELY PREMATURE INFANTS b | ||||
| Patients on antibiotics, n (%) | 38 (21) | 34 (38) | 4 (4) | |
| Courses with antibiotics, n (%) | 58 (28) | 51 (47) | 7 (7) | |
| Prescriptions with antibiotics, n (%) | 538 (34) | 475 (53) | 63 (9) | |
| Antibiotic exposure first 3 days / number of live births (%) | 26/33 (79) | 24/29 (83) | 2/4 (50) | n/a |
a
A chi square test was used for proportions and Student's t-test for means. N/A means that statistic testing was not appropriate because of case mix differences between the hospitals.
b
The DH only treated infants with GA <28 weeks between 1th of January and 15th of February.
• GA, Gestational age.
• Term infants (≥ 37 weeks), premature infants (28–36 weeks), extremely premature infants (23–27 weeks).
• Missing data: Delivery mode on three patients (GA>37 weeks) and two patients (GA 28–37 weeks) at the University hospital, weight at one patient (GA >37 weeks) and two patients (28–37 weeks) at the University hospital.