[Neonatal pediatrics in Denmark. Referral and capacity, 1990]

Abstract

A investigation on neonatal intensive care in Denmark was carried out in October 1990 based on a questionnaire. The eighteen paediatric departments in the country with neonatal intensive care units all answered the questionnaire. The neonatal capacity and its distribution in different parts of Denmark, the level of medical qualifications, the routines for transferral to departments with higher specialization and for certain treatment procedures are described. Several variations in diagnostic and therapeutic routines were found between departments with the same level of specialization. The results are compared to the findings of a similar investigation in 1984. It was found that the neonatal bed-capacity has been reduced since 1984. It was also found that this capacity is relatively smaller in the eastern part of Denmark than in the western part, and that neonatal intensive care is centralized in the eastern part and decentralized in the western part of Denmark. Compared to 1984 better access to radiological and biochemical service has been achieved, and neonatal care is to a greater degree performed by a specialist in paediatrics.