USA Health NICU Joins International Research Group

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital has been selected to join an exclusive international research group called the Tiny Baby Collaborative. With a goal of improving health outcomes for extremely premature newborns, the organization is composed of approximately 25 hospitals spanning four countries that routinely resuscitate children born at 22 to 23 weeks’ gestation and have a track record of successful outcomes. Neonatal staff from hospitals in Germany, Japan and Sweden also belong to the group. As a member of this collaborative, USA Health will share its experiences in caring for 22-23 weekers and gain knowledge from other centers that do the same. Dr. Kalsang Dolma, a neonatologist at USA Health and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama, will serve as the primary investigator for the collaborative’s multicenter inventory of neonatal-perinatal interventions (MINI) study. The MINI study serves as a registry detailing outcomes and practices for all deliveries and infants admitted to intensive care at 22-23 weeks’ gestation at participating hospitals. Specifically, the organization focuses on the unique needs of babies born at or before 23 weeks’ gestation. Until recently, many hospitals around the world did not report survival of babies born this early. Now, more hospitals report that most of these patients can survive with specialized care.