Characteristics of patients in baseline and intervention periods
| Baseline | Intervention | P value | |
| N=82 | N=63 | ||
| Boys | 52 (63%)* | 39 (62%)* | 0.85 |
| Gestational age (weeks) | 26 (22–28)† | 26 (22–28)† | 0.37 |
| Birth weight (g) | 880 (440–2080) | 840 (395–1030) | 0.38 |
| <1500 | 80 (98%) | 63 (100%) | 0.51 |
| <1000 | 58 (71%) | 49 (78%) | 0.34 |
| Mortality within 24 hours | 5 (6%) | 1 (2%) | 0.23 |
| Respiratory distress syndrome | 77 (94%) | 51 (81%) | 0.03 |
| Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) | 51 (72%)‡ | 27 (53%)§ | 0.03 |
| Patent ductus arteriosus | 48 (50%) | 29 (46%) | 0.10 |
| Intraventricular haemorrhage, grade 3–4 | 9 (11%) | 9 (15%) | 0.56 |
| Necrotising enterocolitis | 8 (10%) | 4 (7%) | 0.49 |
| Surgically treated | 3 (4%) | 3 (5%) | 1.0 |
| Length of stay at study unit (days) | 33 (1–127) | 23 (1–149) | 0.33 |
| Total hospital stay including level II¶ (days) | 78 (1–219) | 76 (1–149) | 0.73 |
*N (%).
†Median (range).
‡BPD development could be evaluated in 71 of 82 patients.
§BPD development could be evaluated in 51 of 63 patients.
¶The total number of days the infant was admitted to a neonatal unit, including the time after the infant was transferred out to a level II neonatal unit.