Economic Evaluation of Neonatal Intensive Care of Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants

Abstract

The economic viability of providing neonatal intensive care was evaluated in a new regional perinatal program in south-central Ontario. Using the techniques of cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analysis, the authors calculated the immediate and long-term consequences of providing intensive care to two separate groups of low-birth-weight infants, those weighing 1000 to 1499 grams and those weighing 500 to 999 grams. They found that the introduction of intensive care increased both the rate of survival and the costs of care, with outcomes being more favorable for the heavier newborns. (KIE abstract)