Table 3.
Adjusted association of patient and hospital characteristics with the likelihood of neonatal intensive care unit admission, among newborns with mild conditions.
| Characteristics | Odds ratio (95% confidence interval) |
|---|---|
| Maternal age (years) | |
| <18 | 0.88 (0.70, 1.10) |
| 18–24 | 0.88 (0.80, 0.97) |
| 25–29 | Reference |
| 30–34 | 1.00 (0.91, 1.09) |
| 35–39 | 1.18 (1.07, 1.30) |
| ≥40 | 1.20 (1.03, 1.40) |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| Non-Hispanic white | Reference |
| Non-Hispanic black | 1.07 (0.93, 1.24) |
| Hispanic | 0.95 (0.88, 1.04) |
| Other | 0.93 (0.85, 1.02) |
| Unknown | 0.08 (0.01, 0.70) |
| Primary payer | |
| Private insurance | Reference |
| Medicaid | 1.20 (1.10, 1.32) |
| Self-pay | 1.03 (0.78, 1.37) |
| Other | 1.69 (1.38, 2.07) |
| Gestational age (weeks) | |
| 35 | 5.41 (4.52, 6.49) |
| 36 | 2.27 (1.96, 2.63) |
| 37 | 1.38 (1.23, 1.56) |
| 38 | 1.05 (0.95, 1.17) |
| 39 | 0.98 (0.89, 1.06) |
| 40 | Reference |
| 41 | 1.14 (1.01, 1.29) |
| 42 | 1.05 (0.73, 1.53) |
| Maternal body mass index | |
| Underweight | 0.90 (0.75, 1.08) |
| Normal | Reference |
| Overweight | 1.11 (1.02, 1.20) |
| Obese | 1.10 (0.999, 1.20) |
| Morbidly obese | 1.36 (1.15, 1.62) |
| Unknown | 1.14 (0.98, 1.33) |
| Birth weight (grams) | |
| 1500–2499 | 2.85 (2.50, 3.23) |
| 2500–3999 | Reference |
| ≥4000 | 1.30 (1.17, 1.44) |
| Parity | |
| 0 | Reference |
| 1 | 0.66 (0.61, 0.72) |
| ≥2 | 0.64 (0.58, 0.70) |
| Unknown | 1.01 (0.19, 5.50) |
| Apgar score (5 min) | |
| 0–6 | 8.06 (6.11, 10.62) |
| 7–10 | Reference |
| Unknown | 1.55 (1.002, 2.39) |
| Congenital malformations | |
| Yes | 2.32 (2.04, 2.64) |
| No | Reference |
| Categories of mild conditionsa | |
| Respiratory | 28.01 (25.17, 31.18) |
| Hypoglycemia | 9.00 (7.21, 11.23) |
| Drug exposure/NAS | 3.31 (2.40, 4.56) |
| Suspected infection | 5.35 (4.82, 5.94) |
| Hyperbilirubinemia | Reference |
| Two mild conditions | 20.73 (18.87, 22.77) |
| ≥Three mild conditions | 76.24 (64.66, 89.89) |
| Teaching status | |
| Teaching | 1.29 (0.64, 2.59) |
| Non teaching | Reference |
| Type of ownership | |
| Government (non federal) | 1.14 (0.45, 2.89) |
| Private non profit | Reference |
| Private for-profit | 0.98 (0.31, 3.11) |
| Multihospital system affiliation | |
| Yes | 1.82 (0.80, 4.14) |
| No | Reference |
| Level of NICU | |
| III | Reference |
| IV | 0.69 (0.26, 1.83) |
| Number of NICU beds per 1000 inborn live births | |
| <Medianb | Reference |
| ≥Medianb | 1.97 (1.06, 3.65) |
NAS neonatal abstinence syndrome, NICU neonatal intensive care unit.
aFor the purpose of this regression analysis, newborns were categorized into mutually exclusive groups indicating whether they had mild respiratory condition alone, hypoglycemia alone, drug exposure/NAS alone, suspected infection alone, hyperbilirubinemia alone, two of these mild conditions, or ≥3 of these mild conditions. Newborns with hyperbilirubinemia alone were used as a reference group since that was the largest group.
bSample median number of NICU beds per 1000 inborn live births was 7.114.