Sleep Apnea of prematurity is one of the most common diagnoses in the NICU. Because resolution of sleep apnea is a usual precondition for discharge from the hospital, different monitoring practices might affect length of stay for premature infants.

The research was centered on the objective to compare the proportion of 33 to 34 weeks’ gestational age infants diagnosed with sleep apnea in different NICUs and to assess whether variability in length of stay would be affected by the rate of documented sleep apnea.

This was a prospective cohort study of moderately preterm infants who survived to discharge in 10 NICUs in Massachusetts and California.

The study population comprised 536 infants born between 33 and 34Formula weeks of which 264 (49%) were diagnosed with sleep apnea. The mean postmenstrual age at discharge was higher in infants diagnosed with sleep apnea compared with those without sleep apnea (36.4 ± 1.3 vs 35.7 ± 0.8; P < .001, analysis of variance).

Significant inter-NICU variation existed in the proportion of infants diagnosed with sleep apnea (range: 24%–76%; P < .001). Postmenstrual age at discharge also varied between NICUs (range: 35.5 ± 0.6 to 36.7 ± 1.5 weeks; P < .001). As much as 28% of the variability in postmenstrual age at discharge between NICUs could be explained by the variability in the proportion of infants diagnosed with sleep apnea.

NICUs vary in the proportion of moderately preterm infants diagnosed with sleep apnea, which significantly affects length of stay. Standardization of monitoring practices and definition of clinically significant cardiorespiratory events could have a significant impact on reducing the length of stay in moderately preterm infants.

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Filed under: Sleep Apnea • Sleep Apnea Diagnosis • Sleep Apnea in Children • Sleep Apnea News • Sleep Apnea Research • Sleep Apnea Symptoms

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