COVID-19 pandemic in the neonatal intensive care unit: any effect on late-onset sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis?

The study was aimed at describing potential indirect effects of pandemic-related measures on very-low-birthweight infants in four Italian NICUs. No overall change in late-onset sepsis (LOS) and necrotizing enterocolitis was documented. However, in the NICU where baseline LOS rate was high, a significant reduction in LOS incidence was recorded. Conclusion: COVID-19-related implementation of NICU hygiene policies is likely to reduce the occurrence of LOS in high-risk settings.

Automated summary

The study found that implementing COVID-19-related NICU hygiene policies is likely to significantly reduce the incidence of late-onset sepsis in high-risk settings.