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One goal for hospitals is to safely reduce length of stay. Investigators in Italy compared length of stay and outcomes in 94 medically stable premature infants (gestational age, >26 weeks; mean, 32 weeks; birth weight, 750–1600 g) who were randomized to be transferred from an incubator to an open crib when they reached a weight of 1600 g or 1800 g (the current standard). Infants were discharged from the hospital when they were feeding normally from breast or bottle, had normal weight gain in the crib, could maintain axillary temperature for 72 hours, and had no apneic episodes 72 hours after withdrawal of caffeine (used to treat or prevent apnea of prematurity).
Infants transferred to a crib at 1600 g had a significantly shorter median lengt…