Preterm birth in Sweden:: What are the average lengths of hospital stay and the associated inpatient costs?

Aim: To provide estimates of the first-year length of stay and inpatient costs of Swedish infants admitted for neonatal care by week of gestation and by birthweight; and to provide estimates of the length of stay and inpatient costs of delivering mothers during the ante- and postpartum period by week of gestation and birthweight of the infant. Methods: Population-based registry study covering all live singleton deliveries in Sweden between 1998 and 2001 (n = 336 136). First-year hospitalizations of infants admitted for neonatal care 0 - 6 d after birth (n = 24 583) were tracked, as were hospitalizations of mothers for whom the date of admission lay +/- 1 mo from the date of delivery. Monetary values were assigned to each hospitalization using the Nord-DRG classification system. Results: On average, preterm infants (GA < 37 wk) had first-year lengths of stay roughly four times as long as full-term infants admitted for neonatal care (30 d vs 8 d, p < 0.0001). The average first-year length of stay of the extremely immature infants (GA 22 - 25 wk) was more than six times as long that of infants born at 34 - 36 wk (108 d vs 17 d, p < 0.0001). Mothers delivering preterm had an average length of stay slightly more than twice as long (p < 0.0001) as that of mothers of full-term infants during the ante- and postpartum period. Conclusion: The estimated lengths of stay and costs may serve as reference values for a Swedish setting.