Multidisciplinary evidence-based tools for improving consistency of care and neonatal nutrition

Extrauterine growth restriction from inadequate nutrition remains a significant morbidity in very low birth weight infants. Participants in the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative Quality Improvement Collaborative, Grow, Babies, Grow! developed or refined tools to improve nutrition and reduce practice variation.

Five Neonatal Intensive Care Units describe the development and implementation of nutrition tools. Tools include Parenteral Nutrition Guidelines, Automated Feeding Protocol, electronic medical record Order Set, Nutrition Time-Out Rounding Tool, and a Discharge Nutrition Recommendations. 15 of 22 participant sites completed a survey regarding tool value and implementation.

Reduced growth failure at discharge was observed in four of five NICUs, 11–32% improvement. Tools assisted with earlier TPN initiation (8 h) and reaching full feeds (2–5 days). TPN support decreased by 5 days. 80% of survey respondents rated the tools as valuable.

Evidence and consensus-based nutrition tools help promote standardization, leading to improved and sustainable outcomes.