Neonatology Fellow Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Background: One way to utilize remote patient monitoring is to discharge neonates who have inadequate oral feeding with nasogastric tube feeding. While home nasogastric tube feeding programs are not novel, the use of daily remote monitoring in these programs is fairly new, with just two other programs in the United States described in the literature. Our level IV neonatal intensive care unit started a remote patient monitoring program allowing neonates to transition to full oral feeds after discharge from the hospital. Remotely monitored babies are gaining weight while home in the program, but outcomes such as weight gain velocity, anthropometric outcomes, and time to full oral feeding for remote monitoring babies in comparison to hospitalized infants have not been studied. We aim to compare these variables in our very low birth weight (VLBW) home monitoring versus VLBW hospitalized neonates. Objective: - To compare weight gain velocity (grams/day) and anthropometric outcomes (weight, weight z-score, and change in weight and weight z-score) in VLBW home monitoring versus hospitalized neonates. - To contrast the time to attain full oral feedings between VLBW home monitoring versus hospitalized neonates. Design/Methods: This is a retrospective case-control study. Cases will be approximately 30 VLBW preterm infants discharged on home monitoring from 2019-2023. Controls will be selected from infants discharged prior to 2019 who would have been eligible for home monitoring had the program existed. A minimum of one control will be selected for each case and will be matched based on gestational age, size at birth, and gender. ANCOVA will be used to compare group differences in variables including weight gain velocity, weight, weight z-score, change in weight and weight z-score from birth to time of discharge from home monitoring (cases) or hospital (controls) and day of life at which full oral feeding was attained. Data collection from cases is completed, control data is being collected and expected to be complete by January 2024, and analysis will be completed by March 2024.
