Table 2 Characteristics of participating centers
From: Management of oxygen saturation monitoring in preterm newborns in the NICU: the Italian picture
N | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Participants NICU | 93 | 100% | |
NICU based in hospital in the | South of Italy | 29 | 31,2% |
Center of Italy | 26 | 28% | |
North of Italy | 38 | 40,8% | |
Number of births / year (mean) | 2120 | – | |
Total number of newborns with gestational age < 32 weeks assisted in NICU/ year (total n°) | 6628 | – | |
Total number of newborns with gestational age < 28 weeks assisted in NICU/ year | 2757 | – | |
Number of NICU beds (mean) | 10 | – | |
Median doctors/beds ratio in NICUs | 1:4 | – | |
Median nurses/beds ratio in NICU | 1:4 | – | |
Oxygen management protocol in NICU | 59 | 63.4% | |
Staff training program on the use of the pulse oximeter and on the careful monitoring of O2 saturation | 49 | 52.7% | |
Formal staff training on how to respond to alarms | 38 | 40.9% | |
Who is in charge to set the minimum and maximum alarms? | Neonatologist | 78 | 83.9% |
Nurse | 11 | 11.8% | |
Chief | 4 | 4,3% | |
Who is in charge to disable the maximum alarm? | Neonatologist | 73 | 88.2% |
Nurse | 13 | 13% | |
Chief | 4 | 4.3% | |
In which conditions when the alarms can be disabled? | Never | 59 | 63.5% |
During the execution of invasive procedures | 11 | 11.8% | |
During the nursing care | 23 | 24.7% | |
Time-length of alarms disabled during the nursing care | Less than 5 min | 28 | 30.1% |
Between 5 and 10 min | 7 | 2.2% | |
More than 10 min | 2 | 7.5% | |