Using the Eat Sleep Console Model to Promote Optimal Care and Outcomes for Infants With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Nurse-Driven, Multidisciplinary Initiative.

Background: A nurse led a team of providers in a quality improvement (QI) project to positively impact inpatient care and outcomes for infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The Eat Sleep Console (ESC) model was implemented to promote rooming-in and family-centered care as part of a nonpharmacological treatment approach.

Purpose: To compare the ESC model with the traditional Finnegan treatment approach to describe differences in infants' pharmacotherapy use (morphine), length of stay (LOS), weight loss, consumption of mother's own milk by any feeding method within 24 hours of discharge, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) use, and Pediatric Unit utilization.

Methods: The QI project was conducted at a single hospital site with more than 1700 deliveries per year in the Midwestern United States. A comparative effectiveness study design was used to evaluate the ESC model.

Results: The ESC model impacted care and outcomes for infants with NAS, contributing to a significant reduction in morphine treatment, decrease in LOS among morphine-treated infants, increase in weight loss in infants who did not require morphine treatment, less NICU use, and greater Pediatric Unit utilization. A nonsignificant increase was found in the number of infants who consumed their mother's own milk by any feeding method in the 24-hour period prior to discharge.

Implications For Practice And Research: Results may be helpful for hospitals striving to optimize care for infants exposed to opioids, using assessments of eating, sleeping, and consoling to guide individualized treatment decisions and to reduce morphine use.