Early discharge after nurse specialist education and planning plus follow up visits and telephone calls was cost effective for high risk pregnant women and their newborn infants
Question Compared with routine care and discharge, does early hospital discharge with home follow up care by a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) improve maternal and infant outcomes and reduce cost of care for women with high risk pregnancies and their infants?
Design
Randomised controlled trial with follow up for 8 weeks after delivery.
Setting
A university hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Patients
103 women with hypertension or diabetes mellitus were studied (mean age 27.5 y, 70% with ≥ high school education, 37% married, 81% African-American). Inclusion criteria were speaking English at home and access to a telephone. Women were enrolled at the time of their first hospital admission during the pregnancy (n=55) or at the time of delivery if no previous hospital admission had occurred (n=41). Follow up was 93%.
Intervention
Women in the intervention group (n=44) were …
