• Federico Longhini, Gilles Jourdain, Fatme Ammar, Mostafa Mokthari, Claire Boithias, Olivier Romain, Emmanuelle Letamendia, Pierre Tissieres, Jean Louis Chabernaud, and Daniele De Luca.
• 1Division of Pediatrics and Neonatal Critical Care, FAME Department, South Paris University Hospitals, "A.Beclere" Medical Center-APHP, Paris, France. 2Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Sant'Andrea Hospital, ASL VC, Vercelli, Italy. 3Division of Paediatric Critical Care and Neonatal Medicine, FAME Department, South Paris University Hospitals, "Kremlin-Bicetre" Medical Center-APHP, Paris, France.
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2015 Oct 1; 16 (8): 733-8.

ObjectiveTo verify if preterm neonates transferred between tertiary referral centers have worse outcomes than matched untransferred infants.DesignCohort study with a historically matched control group.SettingTwo tertiary-level neonatal ICUs.PatientsSeventy-five neonates per group.InterventionsTransfer between tertiary-level neonatal ICUs carried out by a fully equipped transportation team.Measurements And Main ResultsWe measured in-hospital mortality, frequency of intraventricular hemorrhage greater than 2nd grade, periventricular leukomalacia, necrotizing enterocolitis greater than or equal to grade 2, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, composite outcomes (in-hospital mortality/bronchopulmonary dysplasia, in-hospital mortality/intraventricular hemorrhage > 2nd grade, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia/periventricular leukomalacia/intraventricular hemorrhage > 2nd grade), length of neonatal ICU stay, weight at discharge, and time spent on ventilatory support. Seventy-five similar (except for antenatal steroids administration) neonates were enrolled in each cohort. Cohorts did not differ in mortality, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intraventricular hemorrhage greater than 2nd grade, periventricular leukomalacia, necrotizing enterocolitis greater than or equal to grade 2, any composite outcomes, neonatal ICU stay, weight at discharge, and duration of respiratory support. Results were unchanged adjusting for antenatal steroids.ConclusionsNeonatal transfer between tertiary-level centers does not impact on clinical outcomes, if performed under optimal conditions.

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