Current practices in neonatal intensive care in the United Kingdom.

We set out to discover if there were any consistencies in clinical practices among United Kingdom nurseries with facilities for neonatal intensive care.

Present survey and results

A questionnaire was sent to a named consultant within each unit with neonatal intensive care cots listed in the directory of intensive care units. Details were sought regarding agreed policies for the following: birth weight or gestational age cut off below which intensive care was not offered; routine intubation and ventilation of very low birthweight babies; prophylactic drugs given to very low birthweight babies; use of sedation, paralysis, and antibiotics during ventilation; …