P2.G140: Differences in Bayley developmental score of infants under 32 weeks gestation between the Single-Family Room Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Open Bay set-up.

Background: Previous research has shown neonatal benefits such as better maternal involvement, breastmilk feeding, and cognitive and language developmental scores in single-family room (SFR) neonatal intensive care units (NICU) compared to Open-bay units. Our hospital system provides a unique natural opportunity to observe the differences between SFR and open-bay units simultaneously, with the same rotating workforce, similar workflows, and the same guidelines. This study determined the difference in neurodevelopmental outcomes using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID) between an SFR and an open bay NICU in cognitive, language, and motor components.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort observational study, infants born at less than 32 weeks admitted to either NICU A (SFR) or NICU B (Open Bay) between January 2018 - August 2019 and who survived for at least five weeks were included. Infants were transferred to another facility before five weeks, and those with major congenital anomalies or major surgical procedures were excluded. Weekly data for all infants were collected from the second week onwards. The BSID III score at one year of corrected age was used for neurodevelopmental score reporting.

Results: One hundred infants were included in the study, 46 in the SFR group and 54 in the open bay. There was no difference between the groups in terms of birth weight, gestational age, number of males, number of small for gestational age (SGA) infants, number of Cesarean sections, mothers with government insurance, received prenatal steroids, days intubated, infants with necrotizing enterocolitis, number of grade 3 or 4 intraventricular hemorrhage, and receiving human milk at discharge. The length of stay (p=0.03) and the government insurance (p=0.004) were significantly higher in the open bay group. The age of the mother ( < 0.001), percentage of married parents (p=0.01), and discharge weight z score were higher in the SFR group (p=0.03). The average number of visits by a parent, skin-to-skin care days, and MoM feeding were similar between the groups (Table 1). The BSID III scores for language were higher in the SFR group (p < 0.001), but the cognitive composite score and the motor components were not significantly different. The language component of the BSID III score was significantly higher in the SFR group after adjustment for the mother's age, parents married or not, length of stay, and discharge weight z-score (p < 0.001, 95% Confidence interval 72.3 to 127.8).

Conclusion: Within the same hospital system, the infants in the unit with single-family rooms had a higher language Bayley developmental score at one year of age adjusted for confounders. This is the first study done within the same health system with different setups.