Study of a New Discharge Plan for Preterm Infants With Lung Disease to Improve Care and Follow-Up

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating how well new consensus guidelines for the discharge and care coordination of preterm infants with lung disease, specifically bronchopulmonary dysplasia BPD, are being implemented. These guidelines aim to improve follow-up care and reduce hospital visits for infants born before 32 weeks with BPD, which affects a significant number of preterm infants and often leads to high healthcare use in their first two years. The study compares outcomes before and after introducing a discharge bundle developed through expert consensus at two neonatal intensive care units NICUs and Boston Childrens Hospital. Initially, data will be collected for three months under the current standard care, followed by three months after the new discharge protocol is applied. The bundle includes coordinated specialty follow-up care, evaluations, and support methods such as telemedicine. Participants are preterm infants with BPD who will be monitored for healthcare use, follow-up rates, medication and oxygen use, feeding status, and family satisfaction over eight months. Researchers will collect data on hospitalizations, outpatient visits, and parent feedback to assess how well the guidelines work in practice. The study runs from September 2023 to November 2027, focusing on infants up to one year old discharged home from the NICU.

Implementation of a Consensus-Based Discharge Protocol for Preterm Infants With Lung Disease