A two-year retrospective study of the neonatal emergency transport service in Northeast Italy

Background: Some newborns require acute transport to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) due to unpredicted or unpredictable reasons. Objective: To describe the activity of the Neonatal Emergency Transport Service (NETS) in Northeast Italy. Methods: An observational retrospective study was performed between 1 January 2018, and 31 December, 2019. Results: A total of 133 transports were collected, with a neonatal transport index of 1.4%. Infants ≤2500 grams were more frequently transferred by NETS than those in the normal group (n = 34/563, 6.0% vs. n = 99/8,437, 1.2%; p <.001). The incidence of preterm birth among transferred newborns was 42/133 (31.6%). For the newborns with >2500 grams, there was a low incidence of a cesarean birth compared to vaginal delivery (23.2% versus 63.5%; p =.001), while the percentages were reversed in the group of infants ≤2500 grams (67.7% versus 20.6%) (p =.001). Infant stabilization time was higher in the underweight group compared to those weighed >2500 grams (31.5 versus 23.0 min; p <.001), as well as the median length of stay in NICU (18.0 versus 8.0 days, respectively, p <.001). The group of infants ≤2500 grams received more intravenous therapy (47.1% vs. 26.2%) and invasive ventilation (26.5% vs. 8.1%), compared to the group of infants who weighed >2500 grams. Conclusions: This study described a local reality by showing the characteristics of the neonatal transports that took place in a metropolitan area in Northeast Italy. Wider database is necessary to achieve a better knowledge in the field of perinatal outcomes.