Benchmarking Initiative to Reduce Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (Benchmarking)

Randomized Controlled Trial of Benchmarking to Reduce Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia to Reduce Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

This study tested whether Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) teams trained in benchmarking -- comparing care practices between different NICUs to see which practices prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) -- and quality improvement would change practices and improve rates of survival without BPD in inborn neonates with birth weights of <1250 grams. Benchmarking is a method involving detailed comparisons of processes between similar organizations. For this study, three NRN centers with the lowest rates of BPD have been identified as Benchmark centers. During a 6-month pre-intervention period, details of care practices and management style at these centers were carefully assessed. Based on practices at these Benchmarking sites, we developed a quality improvement program. For this study, 14 other NRN sites were randomized to either implement the benchmarking intervention (intervention sites) or continue with their usual care practices (control sites). After the 1-year intervention period, we compared changes in the rate of survival without BPD at 36 weeks corrected age between the intervention and control sites.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD); Infant, Small for Gestational Age; Infant, Premature; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Infant, Newborn
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Benchmarking Management Practices; Other: Standard Management Practices

Detailed Description

In 1998, 55% of Very Low Birth Weight (VBLW) infants (those born at <1,250g) born at centers in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Neonatal Research Network (NRN) either died or developed BPD.

Previous studies within the NICHD Neonatal Research Network showed substantial differences in the incidence of BPD between centers. These differences were not explained by birth weight, gestational age, race, frequency of antenatal steroid use, or incidence of respiratory distress syndrome. Practice differences may contribute to BPD incidence variation. This study evaluated the efficacy of a Benchmarking Initiative to modify clinical care practices and decrease incidence of BPD in VLBW infants.

This study tested whether Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) teams trained in benchmarking -- comparing care practices between different NICUs to see which practices prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) -- and quality improvement would change practices and improve rates of survival without BPD in inborn neonates with birth weights of <1250 grams. Benchmarking is a method involving detailed comparisons of processes between similar organizations. For this study, three NRN centers with the lowest rates of BPD have been identified as Benchmark centers. During a 6-month pre-intervention period, details of care practices and management style at these centers were carefully assessed. Based on practices at these Benchmarking sites, we developed a quality improvement program. For this study, 14 other NRN sites were randomized to either implement the benchmarking intervention (intervention sites) or continue with their usual care practices (control sites). After the 1-year intervention period, we compared changes in the rate of survival without BPD at 36 weeks corrected age between the intervention and control sites.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 4095
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Alabama
    • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35233
      • University of Alabama at Birmingham
  • California
    • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
      • Stanford University
    • San Diego, California, United States, 92103-8774
      • University of California at San Diego
  • Connecticut
    • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06504
      • Yale University
  • Florida
    • Miami, Florida, United States, 33136
      • University of Miami
  • Georgia
    • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30303
      • Emory University
  • Indiana
    • Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202
      • Indiana University
  • Michigan
    • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48201
      • Wayne State University
  • New York
    • Rochester, New York, United States, 14642
      • University of Rochester
  • North Carolina
    • Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, 27157
      • Wake Forest University
    • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
      • Duke University
    • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27705
      • RTI International
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45267
      • Cincinnati Children's Medical Center
    • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44106
      • Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
  • Rhode Island
    • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02905
      • Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island
  • Texas
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75235
      • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: No older than 8 months (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria

• Infants 501-1,249g birthweight
• Registered in a participating site

Exclusion Criteria

• Diagnosed with a syndrome as defined by the Neonatal Research Network's Generic Database Study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Intervention; Clinical sites randomized to intervention will receive training in the benchmarking BPD management methods identified at the Benchmark sites.	Other: Benchmarking Management Practices; The Benchmarking intervention included: Data feedback: Using existing data from the NRN Generic Database and Key Care Practices Survey at their NICU to collect data on the perceptions of care.; Training in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Techniques; Review of best existing evidence; Site visits to the Centers with the Lowest Rates of BPD; Selection of Practices to change: Each site team selected practices for modification at their own center
Placebo Comparator: Control; Clinical sites randomized to Control will continue with their normal management practices for BPD.	Other: Standard Management Practices; Centers assigned to the control group continued to receive routine information on their own center's outcomes, and all information routinely supplied within the NRN. Control centers did not participate in organized discussions of the interventions applied within the Benchmarking centers. At the completion of the study, Control Centers were offered a workshop on the Benchmarking techniques.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Survival without BPD	36 weeks of life

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia	36 weeks of life

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: NICHD Neonatal Research Network
• Collaborators: National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Shahnaz Duara, MD, University of Miami; Principal Investigator: Jon E. Tyson, MD MPH, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston; Principal Investigator: Abbot R. Laptook, MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Study Director: Michele C. Walsh, MD, Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Laptook AR, Salhab W, Allen J, Saha S, Walsh M. Pulse oximetry in very low birth weight infants: can oxygen saturation be maintained in the desired range? J Perinatol. 2006 Jun;26(6):337-41. doi: 10.1038/sj.jp.7211500.
• Bhandari V, Finer NN, Ehrenkranz RA, Saha S, Das A, Walsh MC, Engle WA, VanMeurs KP; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Synchronized nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation and neonatal outcomes. Pediatrics. 2009 Aug;124(2):517-26. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-1302. Epub 2009 Jul 27.
• Shankaran S, Langer JC, Kazzi SN, Laptook AR, Walsh M; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Cumulative index of exposure to hypocarbia and hyperoxia as risk factors for periventricular leukomalacia in low birth weight infants. Pediatrics. 2006 Oct;118(4):1654-9. doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-2463.
• Walsh M, Laptook A, Kazzi SN, Engle WA, Yao Q, Rasmussen M, Buchter S, Heldt G, Rhine W, Higgins R, Poole K; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. A cluster-randomized trial of benchmarking and multimodal quality improvement to improve rates of survival free of bronchopulmonary dysplasia for infants with birth weights of less than 1250 grams. Pediatrics. 2007 May;119(5):876-90. doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-2656.
• Walsh M, Engle W, Laptook A, Kazzi SN, Buchter S, Rasmussen M, Yao Q; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Oxygen delivery through nasal cannulae to preterm infants: can practice be improved? Pediatrics. 2005 Oct;116(4):857-61. doi: 10.1542/peds.2004-2411.
• Wilson-Costello D, Walsh MC, Langer JC, Guillet R, Laptook AR, Stoll BJ, Shankaran S, Finer NN, Van Meurs KP, Engle WA, Das A; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Impact of postnatal corticosteroid use on neurodevelopment at 18 to 22 months' adjusted age: effects of dose, timing, and risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in extremely low birth weight infants. Pediatrics. 2009 Mar;123(3):e430-7. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-1928. Epub 2009 Feb 9.

Helpful Links

• NICHD Neonatal Research Network

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2001
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2004
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2004

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 25, 2003
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 25, 2003
• First Posted (Estimate): August 26, 2003

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): June 8, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 3, 2015
• Last Verified: June 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Prematurity; Mechanical ventilation; NICHD Neonatal Research Network; Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW); Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW); Chronic Lung Disease (CLD); Benchmarking
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Infant, Newborn, Diseases; Body Weight; Lung Injury; Infant, Premature, Diseases; Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury; Birth Weight; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
• Other Study ID Numbers: NICHD-NRN-0025; U10HD021364 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD021373 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD021385 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD027851 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD027853 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD027856 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD027871 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD027880 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD027904 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD034216 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD021415 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD027881 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); M01RR008084 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); M01RR006022 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); M01RR000750 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); M01RR000070 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); M01RR000997 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD021397 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U10HD034167 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); M01RR001032 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); M01RR002172 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); M01RR002635 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); U01HD036790 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)