24/7 in house attending staff coverage improves neonatal short-term outcomes: A retrospective study

Objectives: to compare short-term outcomes of newborns over 36 weeks with Apgar scores <= 3 at 1 min, following the adoption of a 24/7 in house coverage schedule Study design: A retrospective chart review comparing two 12-month epochs. Epoch 1: coverage provided by residents with availability on call at home of attending staff. Epoch 2: On site coverage by attending staff. Results: 71 and 60 charts were reviewed from Epoch 1 and 2 respectively. The number of infants receiving chest compressions was reduced during Epoch 2 (from 19% to 1.6%, p < 0.0001). The proportion of infants admitted to the NICU (81% vs 61%, p < 0.01), and the median length of stay in hospital (61 vs 48 h, p = 0.03) were significantly reduced in Epoch 2. Conclusion(s): Continuous coverage by attending staff decreased the number of admissions to intensive care as well as the duration of hospitalization stay for newborns with low Apgar scores (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.