AUTHOR=Li Linlin , Li Zhenghong , Wan Weilin , Li Ji , Zhang Yu , Wang Changyan , Wang Lin 

TITLE=Management of Follow-Up With Preterm Infants During the Outbreak in China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.637275

DOI=10.3389/fped.2021.637275

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) swept Wuhan in January 2020. Other cities in China also suffered during the pandemic. Routine medical services were conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Unit (NICU) as usual, but the follow-up after discharge was seriously affected.</p><p><bold>Objective:</bold> To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of a combination of online and face-to-face follow-up for preterm infants during the COVID-19 epidemic and to explore a follow-up pattern that can provide follow-up services while maximizing the protection of preterm infants and soothing the fear of their parents.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Preterm infants (<italic>n</italic> = 35) whose first follow-up appointment was scheduled from February 1 to April 30, 2020, and preterm infants (<italic>n</italic> = 43) in the NICU follow-up group who were discharged from January 1, 2018, to January 31, 2020, who had a second or later routine follow-up appointment scheduled from February 1 to April 30, 2020, were enrolled. We provided a combination of online and face-to-face follow-up for preterm infants surveyed with the Wenjuanxing platform before and after the online follow-up and compared the first-time follow-up rate between the outbreak and the same period of the previous year.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Feeding and oral medicine and supplements were the most concerning problems of the parents of preterm infants. The anxiety level of the family was significantly decreased after online follow-up (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). A total of 96.8% of parents were satisfied or very satisfied with online follow-up, and 95.2% of parents thought that online follow-up had answered all their questions. Only 35.5% of parents thought online follow-up could replace face-to-face follow-up.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The combination of online and face-to-face follow-up alleviated the anxiety of the parents during the outbreak and achieved a similar first-time follow-up rate as the same period in 2019.</p>