Mortality in Infants Discharged From Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Georgia

Abstract

An examination of linked birth, death, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) records for infants born in Georgia from 1980 through 1982 who were admitted to NICUs participating in the state's perinatal care network reveals that infants who died after discharge had a median duration of NICU hospitalization of 20 days and a median birth weight of 1,983 g. The postdischarge mortality rate of 22.7 per 1,000 NICU discharges is more than five times the overall postnatal mortality rate for Georgia from 1980 to 1982. Demographic characteristics associated with infant mortality were not strongly associated with mortality following NICU discharge. The most common causes of death were congenital heart disease, sudden infant death syndrome, and infection. (KIE abstract)