Table 1.
Infant and maternal characteristics
| Characteristic | OBU (n = 367) | SRU (n = 345) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (female), n (%) | 171 (47) | 175 (46) | 0.30 |
| Birth weight (g), mean (SD) | 1285 (377) | 1240 (382) | 0.11 |
| Number of VLBW infants, n (%) | 260 (71) | 253 (73) | 0.51 |
| Number of ELBW infants, n (%) | 91 (25) | 99 (29) | 0.28 |
| Gestational age (weeks), median (IQR) | 29 (4) | 29 (4) | 0.84 |
| Delivery by caesarian section, n (%) | 196 (53) | 185 (54) | 1 |
| 5-min Apgar score, median (IQR)a | 8 (2) | 8 (2) | 0.17 |
| Antenatal steroids, n (%)b | 340 (93) | 321 (93) | 0.95 |
| Postnatal steroids, n (%) | 19 (5.2) | 20 (5.8) | 0.84 |
| Exposure to central-line, n (%) | 223 (61) | 167 (48) | 0.005 |
| Major congenital anomaly, n (%)c | 10 (2.7) | 3 (0.9) | 0.12 |
| Exposure to invasive mechanical ventilation, n (%)d | 140 (38) | 129 (37) | 0.89 |
| Total ventilation-days, n | 996 | 956 | 0.97 |
| Duration of invasive mechanical ventilation per infant (days), median (IQR)e | 4 (7) | 5 (6) | 0.97 |
| Surgical pathology, n (%) | 15 (4.1) | 11 (3.2) | 0.66 |
| Prophylactic fluconazole use, n (%) | 57 (16) | 62 (18) | 0.44 |
| Total patient-days, n | 8185 | 6969 | 0.36 |
| Length of hospital stay per child (days), median (IQR) | 13 (25) | 13 (23) | 0.36 |
| In-hospital mortality, n (%) | 15 (4.1) | 20 (5.8) | 0.38 |
| Infection-related mortality, n (%) | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.6) | 0.96 |
Significant P value shown in bold
OBU open-bay unit, SRU single-room unit, SD standard deviation, gr grams, VLWB very-low birth-weight, ELBW extremely-low birth-weight, IQR interquartile range
aResults based on 365 and 342 infants in OBU and SRU, respectively (five missing variables)
bResults based on 361 and 341 infants in OBU and SRU, respectively (ten missing variables)
cDefined as a condition that leads to significant medical, social or cosmetic consequences and typically requires medical intervention such as oral facial clefts, cyanotic heart defects, neural tube defects and limb deficiencies
dVentilation modalities include conventional mechanical ventilation with pressure support or high frequency oscillation (HFO)
eResults displayed for infants exposed to invasive mechanical ventilation only