Is the NICU Private Room Too Quiet?

Preterm infants hospitalized in private rooms display reduced brain maturation and lower language scores at age 2 years.

Survival rates for premature infants have improved substantially during the past 20 years, but adverse developmental outcomes remain a problem. Preterm infants must complete development in an abnormally noisy and bright environment, prompting rapid adoption of single-family rooms for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Private rooms permit better control of sound and light, privacy, improved parental bonding, and reduced rates of infection and other morbidities.

Investigators tracked outcomes for 107 preterm infants (gestational age, ≤30 weeks) admitted to an urban NICU with low parental visitation rates. The NICU design allowed 54% of infants to be assigned to private rooms and the remainder to traditional open wards. At term gestation, …

Reviewing Author

Robin Steinhorn, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardActelion Pharmaceuticals

Editorial BoardsJournal of Pediatrics

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Pediatric Society (President); American Board of Pediatrics (Board of Directors)

Robin Steinhorn, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardActelion Pharmaceuticals

Editorial BoardsJournal of Pediatrics

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Pediatric Society (President); American Board of Pediatrics (Board of Directors)

Is the NICU Private Room Too Quiet?

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Reviewing Author