Facilitating Safe Transition to Home for Preterm Infants - a National Database Study

September 1, 2025 updated by: University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Facilitating Safe Transition to Home for Preterm Infants - a Retrospective Observational Study Using a National Database

Preterm infants (i.e. born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy) often require additional care and are admitted to neonatal units. Readiness for discharge home typically requires a level of physiological maturity, such that an infant is: 1) able to breathe spontaneously without additional support; 2) able to maintain body temperature; 3) able to take all nutritional requirements orally; 4) weighs ≥1700 grams and is consistently gaining weight.

Staying in the hospital longer than necessary can be detrimental to infants, stressful for families, and costly to the NHS. Reducing the length of stay by just one day would be meaningful to parents and could save the UK National Health Service (NHS) almost £25million per year. Currently little is known about whether, how long and why preterm infants stay in hospital beyond the point at which they are physiologically ready for discharge.

This study will use data from babies' medical records from the whole of England and Wales to identify the age and postmenstrual age when preterm infants reach each of the physiological barriers to discharge and identify which physiological discharge barrier requires preterm infants to remain in hospital the longest. The study will quantify the difference between the time preterm infants become physiologically ready for discharge and actual discharge home and describe factors associated with extended stays.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

Infants born preterm (i.e., before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy) often require additional care and are admitted to neonatal units. Depending on needs, preterm infants have varying lengths of hospital stay; most go home between 37 and 40 weeks' post-menstrual age. Before a preterm infant can go home, there must be a readiness for safe discharge. "Discharge readiness" typically requires a level of physiological maturity such that the infant can:

  1. Breathe without support: preterm babies often have breathing pauses (apnoea of prematurity); many require breathing support. With maturity, infants can breathe without support. Some may continue to need additional oxygen, and some go home on oxygen therapy.
  2. Maintain body temperature: initially preterm infants are nursed in incubators. As the ability to generate and preserve heat matures, infants may move into heated cots initially and then finally into regular cots with normal clothing and blankets.
  3. Feed adequately: preterm infants can take time to establish feeding. Initially potentially needing parenteral nutrition. Milk is slowly introduced via a gastric tube. As the ability to suck and swallow matures, infants learn to feed orally (on the breast or by bottle). To be discharged without additional support, infants need to be able to take milk requirements orally. Occasionally, where the service is available, infants can go home with partial nasogastric feeding.
  4. Gain weight: Most infants are considered ready if they weigh at least 1700-1800g and are consistently gaining weight.

In addition, families must be prepared to care for the infant independently (including keeping the baby warm, feeding, bathing, safe travel, and giving medicines) and be emotionally ready and confident.

Infants achieve maturity at variable pace and may become mature in some aspects but not all e.g., be able to breathe well, maintain temperature, and gain weight, but still be unable to take sufficient oral feeds. The final reason that keeps the infant in hospital is referred to as the "terminal or final discharge barrier". There is very little research to investigate the barriers to safe discharge and to find the most common "final discharge barrier" for preterm infants in the UK.

The study team will use data from the National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD) for all infants born at <37 weeks' gestational age and admitted to neonatal units in England and Wales from 2016-2022. The day of life and postmenstrual age each infant reaches each of the physiological barriers to discharge will be described, and the final 'barrier to discharge' to be reached will be identified. The study team will assess whether the final discharge barriers differ by gestational age and between neonatal units and summarise the number of days infants remain in the hospital after surpassing all physiological milestones. The study team will explore the characteristics of infants, mothers and neonatal units that are associated with extended hospital stays beyond physiological readiness for discharge.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
250000

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Derbyshire
      • Derby, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, DE22 3DT
        • University Hospitals of Derby and Burton

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will include all infants born at <37 weeks gestational age who are admitted to a neonatal unit in England and Wales which contributes data to the National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Infants admitted to neonatal units that contribute data to the NNRD who are:
  • Born at <37 completed weeks' gestational age
  • Born from 01 January 2016 to 31 December 2022
  • Admitted to neonatal care for >48 hours
  • Discharged home alive

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Age and postmenstrual age when each of three physiological barriers are reached
Time Frame: 01 January 2016 to 31 December 2022

Age (in days of life) and postmenstrual age (e.g., 35 weeks + 1 day) when each of three physiological barriers reached:

  1. Breathing spontaneously without having received caffeine (used to treat apnoea) for at least 5 days
  2. Achieved full oral feeding without need for intravenous or gastric feeding
  3. Weight ≥1700 grams
01 January 2016 to 31 December 2022
Final barrier to discharge home
Time Frame: 01 January 2016 to 31 December 2022
The last of three physiological barriers to be surpassed
01 January 2016 to 31 December 2022

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of days in hospital after surpassing all physiological discharge barriers
Time Frame: 01 January 2016 to 31 December 2022
Difference (in days) between reaching the last of the three physiological barriers to be reached and the day of discharge home
01 January 2016 to 31 December 2022

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: Shalini Ojha, PhD, University of Nottingham

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 30, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 21, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 27, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 28, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 8, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 1, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NIHR204885

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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