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Length of stay and cost of birth hospitalization: effects of subfertility and ART

Journal of Perinatology volume 38, pages 1457–1465 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective

The objective of this study is to measure delivery length of stay (LOS) and cost as proxies for infant morbidity in assisted reproductive technology (ART) and subfertile deliveries.

Study Design

Massachusetts singleton births, ≥  23 weeks gestational age (GA) between 2004 and 2010, were linked with ART data, vital records, and hospital discharges. LOS and costs (2010 US dollars) of infants born to fertile (no ART or indicators of infertility), subfertile (indicators of infertility but no ART), and ART-treated (linked to ART data) deliveries were compared. Least-square means and SE were calculated.

Results

Of 345,756 singletons (fertile n = 332,481, subfertile n = 4987, and ART-treated n = 8288), overall LOS was 3.79 ± 0.01, 4.32 ± 0.15, and 4.90 ± 0.04 days, and costs were $2980 ± 6, $3217 ± 58, and $4483 ± 62, respectively. GA and birthweight predicted much of the intergroup difference.

Conclusion

Maternal fertility group was not an independent predictor of infant LOS and costs. Prematurity and birthweight were driving factors in resource utilization.

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Acknowledgements

Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) wishes to thank all of its members for providing clinical information to the SART CORS database for the use by patients and researchers. Without the efforts of our members, this research would not have been possible.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health R01HD067270.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, USA

    Dmitry Dukhovny

  2. Section of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, USA

    Sunah S. Hwang

  3. Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, USA

    Daksha Gopal & Howard Cabral

  4. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Michigan State University, Lansing, USA

    Stacey Missmer

  5. Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, USA

    Hafsatou Diop

  6. Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, USA

    Eugene Declercq

  7. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pathology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Lebanon, USA

    Judy E. Stern

Authors
  1. Dmitry Dukhovny
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  2. Sunah S. Hwang
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  3. Daksha Gopal
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  4. Howard Cabral
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  6. Hafsatou Diop
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  7. Eugene Declercq
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  8. Judy E. Stern
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dmitry Dukhovny.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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Dukhovny, D., Hwang, S.S., Gopal, D. et al. Length of stay and cost of birth hospitalization: effects of subfertility and ART. J Perinatol 38, 1457–1465 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-018-0205-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-018-0205-9

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