Preterm birth in the Nordic countries-Capacity, management and outcome in neonatal care

Mikael Norman; Jesper Padkær Petersen; Hans Jørgen Stensvold; Thordur Thorkelsson; Kjell Helenius; Charlotte Brix Andersson; Heidi Ørum Cueto; Magnus Domellöf; Mika Gissler; Anna Heino; Stellan Håkansson; Baldvin Jonsson; Claus Klingenberg; Liisa Lehtonen; Marjo Metsäranta; Arild E. Rønnestad; Simon Trautner

doi:10.1111/apa.16753

Preterm birth in the Nordic countries-Capacity, management and outcome in neonatal care

Mikael Norman^*, Jesper Padkær Petersen, Hans Jørgen Stensvold, Thordur Thorkelsson, Kjell Helenius, Charlotte Brix Andersson, Heidi Ørum Cueto, Magnus Domellöf, Mika Gissler, Anna Heino, Stellan Håkansson, Baldvin Jonsson, Claus Klingenberg, Liisa Lehtonen, Marjo Metsäranta, Arild E. Rønnestad, Simon Trautner

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

65 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Aim: Organisation of care, perinatal and neonatal management of very preterm infants in the Nordic regions were hypothesised to vary significantly. The aim of this observational study was to test this hypothesis.

Methods: Information on preterm infants in the 21 greater healthcare regions of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden was gathered from national registers in 2021. Preterm birth rates, case-mix, perinatal interventions, neonatal morbidity and survival to hospital discharge in very (<32 weeks) and extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks of gestational age) were compared.

Results: Out of 287 642 infants born alive, 16 567 (5.8%) were preterm, 2389 (0.83%) very preterm and 800 (0.28%) were extremely preterm. In very preterm infants, exposure to antenatal corticosteroids varied from 85% to 98%, live births occurring at regional centres from 48% to 100%, surfactant treatment from 28% to 69% and use of mechanical ventilation varied from 13% to 77% (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Significant regional variations within and between countries were also seen in capacity in neonatal care, case-mix and number of admissions, whereas there were no statistically significant differences in survival or major neonatal morbidities.

Conclusion: Management of very preterm infants exhibited significant regional variations in the Nordic countries.

Original language	English
Journal	Acta Paediatrica
Volume	112
Issue number	7
Pages (from-to)	1422-1433
Number of pages	12
ISSN	0803-5253
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16753
Publication status	Published - Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Nordic country
gestational age
mortality
neonatal care
premature

Access to Document

10.1111/apa.16753Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0

Open Access articleFinal published version, 1.96 MBLicence: CC BY-NC 4.0

AUB Link

Search for the material in Aalborg University Library's search engine

Cite this

Norman, M., Padkær Petersen, J., Stensvold, H. J., Thorkelsson, T., Helenius, K., Brix Andersson, C., Ørum Cueto, H., Domellöf, M., Gissler, M., Heino, A., Håkansson, S., Jonsson, B., Klingenberg, C., Lehtonen, L., Metsäranta, M., Rønnestad, A. E., & Trautner, S. (2023). Preterm birth in the Nordic countries-Capacity, management and outcome in neonatal care. Acta Paediatrica, 112(7), 1422-1433. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16753

@article{4a07bdfc34aa48f388cf4e1eee67acac,

title = "Preterm birth in the Nordic countries-Capacity, management and outcome in neonatal care",

abstract = "Aim: Organisation of care, perinatal and neonatal management of very preterm infants in the Nordic regions were hypothesised to vary significantly. The aim of this observational study was to test this hypothesis.Methods: Information on preterm infants in the 21 greater healthcare regions of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden was gathered from national registers in 2021. Preterm birth rates, case-mix, perinatal interventions, neonatal morbidity and survival to hospital discharge in very (<32 weeks) and extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks of gestational age) were compared.Results: Out of 287 642 infants born alive, 16 567 (5.8%) were preterm, 2389 (0.83%) very preterm and 800 (0.28%) were extremely preterm. In very preterm infants, exposure to antenatal corticosteroids varied from 85% to 98%, live births occurring at regional centres from 48% to 100%, surfactant treatment from 28% to 69% and use of mechanical ventilation varied from 13% to 77% (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Significant regional variations within and between countries were also seen in capacity in neonatal care, case-mix and number of admissions, whereas there were no statistically significant differences in survival or major neonatal morbidities.Conclusion: Management of very preterm infants exhibited significant regional variations in the Nordic countries.",

keywords = "Nordic country, gestational age, mortality, neonatal care, premature",

author = "Mikael Norman and {Padk{\ae}r Petersen}, Jesper and Stensvold, {Hans J{\o}rgen} and Thordur Thorkelsson and Kjell Helenius and {Brix Andersson}, Charlotte and {{\O}rum Cueto}, Heidi and Magnus Domell{\"o}f and Mika Gissler and Anna Heino and Stellan H{\aa}kansson and Baldvin Jonsson and Claus Klingenberg and Liisa Lehtonen and Marjo Mets{\"a}ranta and R{\o}nnestad, {Arild E.} and Simon Trautner",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2023 The Authors. Acta Paediatrica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation Acta Paediatrica.",

year = "2023",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1111/apa.16753",

language = "English",

volume = "112",

pages = "1422--1433",

journal = "Acta Paediatrica",

issn = "0803-5253",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "7",

}

Norman, M, Padkær Petersen, J, Stensvold, HJ, Thorkelsson, T, Helenius, K, Brix Andersson, C, Ørum Cueto, H, Domellöf, M, Gissler, M, Heino, A, Håkansson, S, Jonsson, B, Klingenberg, C, Lehtonen, L, Metsäranta, M, Rønnestad, AE & Trautner, S 2023, 'Preterm birth in the Nordic countries-Capacity, management and outcome in neonatal care', Acta Paediatrica, vol. 112, no. 7, pp. 1422-1433. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16753

TY - JOUR

T1 - Preterm birth in the Nordic countries-Capacity, management and outcome in neonatal care

AU - Norman, Mikael

AU - Padkær Petersen, Jesper

AU - Stensvold, Hans Jørgen

AU - Thorkelsson, Thordur

AU - Helenius, Kjell

AU - Brix Andersson, Charlotte

AU - Ørum Cueto, Heidi

AU - Domellöf, Magnus

AU - Gissler, Mika

AU - Heino, Anna

AU - Håkansson, Stellan

AU - Jonsson, Baldvin

AU - Klingenberg, Claus

AU - Lehtonen, Liisa

AU - Metsäranta, Marjo

AU - Rønnestad, Arild E.

AU - Trautner, Simon

PY - 2023/7

Y1 - 2023/7

N2 - Aim: Organisation of care, perinatal and neonatal management of very preterm infants in the Nordic regions were hypothesised to vary significantly. The aim of this observational study was to test this hypothesis.Methods: Information on preterm infants in the 21 greater healthcare regions of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden was gathered from national registers in 2021. Preterm birth rates, case-mix, perinatal interventions, neonatal morbidity and survival to hospital discharge in very (<32 weeks) and extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks of gestational age) were compared.Results: Out of 287 642 infants born alive, 16 567 (5.8%) were preterm, 2389 (0.83%) very preterm and 800 (0.28%) were extremely preterm. In very preterm infants, exposure to antenatal corticosteroids varied from 85% to 98%, live births occurring at regional centres from 48% to 100%, surfactant treatment from 28% to 69% and use of mechanical ventilation varied from 13% to 77% (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Significant regional variations within and between countries were also seen in capacity in neonatal care, case-mix and number of admissions, whereas there were no statistically significant differences in survival or major neonatal morbidities.Conclusion: Management of very preterm infants exhibited significant regional variations in the Nordic countries.

AB - Aim: Organisation of care, perinatal and neonatal management of very preterm infants in the Nordic regions were hypothesised to vary significantly. The aim of this observational study was to test this hypothesis.Methods: Information on preterm infants in the 21 greater healthcare regions of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden was gathered from national registers in 2021. Preterm birth rates, case-mix, perinatal interventions, neonatal morbidity and survival to hospital discharge in very (<32 weeks) and extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks of gestational age) were compared.Results: Out of 287 642 infants born alive, 16 567 (5.8%) were preterm, 2389 (0.83%) very preterm and 800 (0.28%) were extremely preterm. In very preterm infants, exposure to antenatal corticosteroids varied from 85% to 98%, live births occurring at regional centres from 48% to 100%, surfactant treatment from 28% to 69% and use of mechanical ventilation varied from 13% to 77% (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Significant regional variations within and between countries were also seen in capacity in neonatal care, case-mix and number of admissions, whereas there were no statistically significant differences in survival or major neonatal morbidities.Conclusion: Management of very preterm infants exhibited significant regional variations in the Nordic countries.

KW - Nordic country

KW - gestational age

KW - mortality

KW - neonatal care

KW - premature

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150900950&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/apa.16753

DO - 10.1111/apa.16753

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36912750

SN - 0803-5253

VL - 112

SP - 1422

EP - 1433

JO - Acta Paediatrica

JF - Acta Paediatrica

IS - 7

ER -

Preterm birth in the Nordic countries-Capacity, management and outcome in neonatal care

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

AUB Link

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this