Chronic Lung Disease (CLD) or Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) is defined as the need for oxygen or respiratory support at 36-weeks postmenstrual age. It remains the most common complication of prematurity. Infants who develop CLD have a higher incidence of mortality. Morbidities are also higher in infants that develop CLD and include long term neurodevelopmental delays and late onset sepsis. Infants that develop CLD also have increased utilization of medical resources and are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital during the first year of life. The Vermont Oxford Network (VON) database revealed a median hospital rate of CLD to be 31.3%, for infants 22-29 weeks’ gestational age in 2021. The median 2020 rate in the VON database for the ten hospitals in TIPQC was 41.7%.
Level III and IV NICUs from across Tennessee came together to achieve a 25% relative reduction (from the respective facility’s baseline over the past three years) in CLD in this population by June 2025.