Objectives: To examine whether admission hospital type (13 perinatal centers vs 4 freestanding pediatric hospitals) was associated with differences in risk and illness severity adjusted mortality and morbidity among outborn preterm infants.
Study design: Records of singleton outborn infants < or =32 weeks' gestational age (n = 605) admitted to 17 tertiary level neonatal intensive care units participating in the Canadian Neonatal Network for the period 1996 to 1997 were examined.
Results: Outborn infants admitted to freestanding pediatric hospitals were at higher risk of death (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20, 4.20), nosocomial infection (AOR, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.64, 3.73), and oxygen dependency at 28 days of age (AOR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.14, 2.75) when compared with outborn infants admitted to perinatal centers.
Conclusions: After adjustment for perinatal risks and admission illness severity, outborn infants had better outcomes if they were admitted to perinatal centers compared with freestanding pediatric hospitals.