Hospital stay and short-term follow-up of children of drug-abusing mothersborn in an urban community hospital - a retrospective review

In order to assess the current use of medical and social services of childr en of drug-abusing mothers in regard to their short term outcome in a Swiss urban community hospital, we compared hospital, private paediatricians and home nursing records of 37 of these children with 37 matched control child ren from birth to 18 months of age. Children of drug-abusing mothers (CDAM) experienced a longer neonatal hospital stay than control children with a m edian (25%-75%) of 26 days (10.5-52.5 days) versus 5 (5-6) days (P < 0.001) , a substantial part of which, 8 days (3.5-26 days) versus 0 days (0-1 day) (P < 0.001) was not motivated by any specific medical treatment or nursing care. Before discharge, CDAM were referred to out of hospital nursing and social services for further management, but only 13% were effectively follo wed. More than 50% were lost to follow-up by their initial paediatrician af ter 1 year of life. Conclusion New ways to ensure better co-ordination between paediatricians a nd the social services (inside and outside the hospital) should be develope d to shorten the neonatal hospitalisation period and improve the quality of follow-up.