Late Preterm/Near-term Editorial
Article Outline
Welcome to our new look! Not only does NAINR have a fresh, up-to-date appearance, but it also includes something new to help ensure that every issue is of interest to you. Starting with this issue, NAINR includes both solicited and unsolicited articles, all of which continue to be peer reviewed. With this said, the composition of each issue not only continues to be theme based but also includes current topics of interest. You are invited to submit articles on timely topics important to you in neonatal and infant care.
By now, you should have noticed the introduction of regular columns in NAINR (“International,” “Pharmacology,” “Pain,” “Families,” and “Research”). These columns, written by some of the leaders in our field, usually apply to the issue's theme. Also, you will often find additional content available at NAINR's website: www.nainr.com (look for the online only icon in the table of contents). Plus, the online poll is a great way to find out how colleagues manage different problems and issues.
This issue's topic, near-term and late preterm infants, refers to infants born between 34 0/7 and 366/7 weeks' postmenstrual age. Controversy exists among health care professionals on the use of these terms; however, the term late preterm has been considered more appropriate in reflecting this subgroup of preterm infants in a workshop on this topic in July 2005, organized by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Throughout this issue, near-term and late preterm will be used interchangeably.
Promoting Consistency in Practice Among Late-Preterm Infants
As the preterm birthrate continues to rise in the United States, 31% of this increase is represented by the late preterm/near-term population. Late preterm infants born at 34 to 36weeks demonstrate a significantly higher incidence of morbidity than term infants.1 Several of these morbidities in which the late preterm infant is at high risk for will be reviewed in this issue. Given the higher rate of neonatal complications in this subgroup of neonates, optimizing care is essential to improving care as well as reducing hospital costs. Typically, late preterm infants are treated as full-term infants clinically. These practices are not evidence-based and need to be adjusted for this growing population.
Clinical pathways for the late preterm infant are one way of guiding clinical practice to improve not only quality of care, but consistency of practice.2 A sample clinical pathway for the late preterm infant between 34 and 36 weeks gestation is available on line at http://www.nainr.com. The pathway focuses on clinical conditions that are typically more common in the late preterm population. In addition, the clinical pathway document is consistent with all other gestational-based pathways, ensuring conformity in documentation practices.
References
PII: S1527-3369(07)00039-6
doi:10.1053/j.nainr.2007.03.009
© 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
