62 resultados para Tempo de internação
em Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte(UFRN)
Resumo:
The pressure ulcers (PU), also known as decubitus ulcers, are defined as injuries caused by the constant pressure exerted on a particular point of the body, causing impairment of blood supply with a decrease or interruption of tissue irrigation, causing occlusion of blood vessels and capillaries, ischemia and cell death. This is a descriptive study with longitudinal design, and panel type, with quantitative approach that aimed to examine the association between predisposing conditions (PC), intrinsic factors (IF) and extrinsic factors (EF) with the occurrence of PU, in hospitalized patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), pain clinical, surgical clinical and neurology wards of a university hospital. The study population was composed of all patients who were restricted to bed during the period from December 2007 to February 2008. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of HUOL / UFRN (No 135/07). The data-collection took place through a structured formulary of observation, data from medical records and physical examination of patients skins. The results were organized in SPSS 15.0 software, tabulated, categorized and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Of the 30 patients studied, 43.3% had been hospitalized in the pain clinical and surgical clinic wards, 20.0% in the ICU, 20.0% in the ICU / ward and 16.7% in neurology, being the length of hospitalization in those units of 7 to 18 days (63.3%) and from 19 to 30 days (36.7%), predominantly female and aged ≥ 60 years (60.0%). 19 PU were diagnosed in 43.3% of patients monitored, being 38.5% with one PU between 7 to 18 days and 46.2% with two or more between 19 to 30 days of hospitalization, showing significant relationship (ρ-value = 0029) between length of hospital stay and the number of PU. Was found an association of 35.7% of the PC (cardio-respiratory, hematological, metabolic and psychogenic), IF (age group, oedema, skin changes in humidity and change of body temperature) and EF (type of mattress and strength of body pressure) for all patients studied, statistically significant (ρ-value = 0001), between the average scores in patients with and without PU, with reason chance to 12.0 for the development of PU and there was moderate correlation ( r = 0618) in the presence of this association. Results show the influence of the multiplicity of factors and conditions on the occurrence of PU, which brings us to reflect on the assistance focused on prevention and reduction of these injuries which will encourage the reduction of hospitalization length, physical and psychological suffering, and the possibility of improving the clinical condition of the patient.
Resumo:
To characterize patients according to gender, age category, internment time, diagnostical hypothesis and location of the pressure ulcer; to identify the susceptibility conditions, intrinsical and extrinsical factors present on ICU patients and to verify on the existence of association between the susceptibility conditions and the intrinsecal and extrinsecal factors on the occurrence of PU. Methods: It is a descriptive study, of longitudinal design of the panel type, with quantitative approach, performed on two ICU s of a private hospital located in Natal/RN, with 40 patients interned at these units. The data collection was performed on all three shifts through a structured observation and physical exam of the patients' skin form seeking to identify the presence of PU. Results: The greatest occurence of PU was on individuals of the male gender (70%) when compared to the female gender (30%), that difference being statistically significant (p=0,0267), with the male gender presenting 4,3 times greater chance of developing PU than the female; the predominant age category was from 60 years of age on (85%), 60,0% presented 1 to 2 PU s after 7 (seven) days of permanence in the ICU s, the predominant diagnostical hypothesis on the patients with PU were the respiratory diseases (42,3%) and the most frequent locations of PU were the sacral region (40,0%) and heels (36,0%). 25 PU s of stage I were diagnosed on 50,0% of the followed patients, with general incidence of 50,0% on both ICUs. from the 88 variables researched, 75 were identified on the patients from the study, being the predominant conditions (anemia, hypotension, leukocytosis, other diseases hypertension blood pressure, cardiac insuffience, pneumonia - and ansiolythic), the intrinsecal factors (diminished muscular strenght and/or mass, discrete edema, totally compromised mobile coordination and total inability for movement on the bed) and the extrinsecal factors (inadequate mattress type, permanence on a single position for >2 hours, shearing/friction force, bed clothes with folds that leave marks on the body, pressure force) predominated on patients with PU. The male gender variables (p=0,0267,OR=4,3), sedation (p=0,0006,OR=4,1), psychomotive agitation (p=0,0375,OR=5,8) and leukocytosis (p=0,0285,OR=5,0) presented a significant statistical diference when analyzed independently. We verified an association of 17,3%, statistically significant (p=0,0384), between the susceptibility conditions (anemia, leukocytosis and hypotension), the intrinsecal factors (age equal or above 60 years, diminished/absent pain sensibility and smooth, fine or delicate skin) and the extrinsecal factors (inadequate mattress, pressure forces, shearing/friction force, permanence on a single position for more than 2 hours, elevation between 30 to 45 degrees and inadequate bed clothes' conditions), with a chance ratio of 4,6 times the risk of occurrence of PU on the patients that presented the referred association. Conclusion: The incidence of PU detected on the ICU-interned patients was high and we made evident the existence of association between the susceptibility conditions, the intrinsecal and extrinsecal factors on the occurrence of PU s on the ICUinterned patients, and thus we accept the alternative hypothesis proposed on the study
Resumo:
Introduction: Pneumonia is an inflammatory lung disease and it is the greatest cause of deaths in children younger than five years of age worldwide. Chest physiotherapy is widely used in the treatment of pneumonia because it can help to eliminate inflammatory exudates and tracheobronchial secretions, remove airway obstructions, reduce airway resistance, enhance gas exchange and reduce the work of breathing. Thus, chest physiotherapy may contribute to patient recovery as an adjuvant treatment even though its indication remains controversial. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy in relation to time until clinical resolution in children (from birth up to 18 years old) of either gender with any type of pneumonia. Methods: We searched CENTRAL 2013, Issue 4; MEDLINE (1946 to May week 4, 2013); EMBASE (1974 to May 2013); CINAHL (1981 to May 2013); LILACS (1982 to May 2013); Web of Science (1950 to May 2013); and PEDro (1950 to May 2013). We consulted the ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO ICTRP registers to identify planned, ongoing and unpublished trials. We consulted the reference lists of relevant articles found by the electronic searches for additional studies. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared chest physiotherapy of any type with no chest physiotherapy in children with pneumonia. Two review authors independently selected the studies to be included in the review, assessed trial quality and extracted data. Results: Three RCTs involving 255 inpatient children are included in the review. They addressed conventional chest physiotherapy, positive expiratory pressure and continuous positive airway pressure. The following outcomes were measured: duration of hospital stay, time to clinical resolution (observing the following parameters: fever, chest indrawing, nasal flaring, tachypnoea and peripheral oxygen saturation levels), change in adventitious sounds, change in chest X-ray and duration of cough in days. Two of the included studies found a significant improvement in respiratory rate and oxygen saturation whereas the other included study failed to show that standardised respiratory physiotherapy and positive expiratory pressure decrease the time to clinical resolution and the duration of hospital stay. No adverse effects related to the interventions were xvi described. Due to the different characteristics of the trials, such as the duration of treatment, levels of severity, types of pneumonia and the techniques used in children with pneumonia, as well as differences in their statistical presentation, we were not able to pool data. Two included studies had an overall low risk of bias whereas one included study had an overall unclear risk of bias. Conclusion: Our review does not provide conclusive evidence to justify the use of chest physiotherapy in children with pneumonia due to a lack of data. The number of included studies is small and they differed in their statistical presentation
Resumo:
The objective was to understand the process of care in the perception of hospitalized children with cancer. This is a descriptive study of qualitative approach. Data were collected between the months of October 2013 and January 2014, through photographic records and semi-structured interview consisting of questions relating to the identification of age, sex, diagnosis and length of stay and a script of questions related to the recorded pictures. Eight children were included aged between six and twelve who were admitted to a pediatric oncology sector, located in the city of Natal / RN. The criteria used in the sample were: being hospitalized for cancer treatment; and present favorable physical conditions for carrying out the data collection. For the treatment of collected material was used content analysis, thematic modality. The study followed the ethical and legal principles governing scientific research with human beings and took place with the approval of the project by the Ethics and Research Committee of the Northern League Riograndense against Cancer, with opinion registered under number 329 015 and CAAE 16097613.9.0000.5293. According to the results it was found that, for the child, the care happens through technical activities, such as making procedures and the use of personal protective equipment, as well as through the dialogic relationship, which favors the establishment of confidence in care professional. Caring also means developing activities that promote well-being, the fun and the social and cognitive development, highlighting thus the playful, during hospitalization, as an auxiliary tool in the care process. During hospitalization, the child identifies two individuals responsible for their care, accompanying family and professional, and nursing professionals the most cited in moments of care. , Also of note, the promotion of care, in the perception of the child related to the infrastructure of the institution, environmental cleaning, personal hygiene, the medicalization and the food. It is concluded that care understood by the child, whilst still maintaining relations with the biomedical model, points to a new perspective that should consider the biological, social and psychological of acquiring cancer without unlink them of the development child. 9 Moreover, we see the child as an active social actor in this process, and therefore needs to be heard and answered their needs
Resumo:
The sizing of nursing human resources is an essential management tool to meet the needs of the patients and the institution. Regarding to the Intensive Care Unit, where the most critical patients are treated and the most advanced life-support equipments are used, requiring a high number of skilled workers, the use of specific indicators to measure the workload of the team becomes necessary. The Nursing Activities Score is a validated instrument for measuring nursing workload in the Intensive Care Unit that has demonstrated effectiveness. It is a cross-sectional study with the primary objective of assessing the workload of nursing staff in an adult Intensive Care Unit through the application of the Nursing Activities Score. The study was conducted in a private hospital specialized in the treatment of patients with cancer, which is located in the city of Natal (Rio Grande do Norte – Brazil). The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the hospital (Protocol number 558.799; CAAE 24966013.7.0000.5293). For data collection, a form of sociodemographic characteristics of the patients was used; the Nursing Activities Score was used to identify the workload of nursing staff; and the instrument of Perroca, which classifies patients and provides data related to the their need for nursing care, was also used. The collected data were analyzed using a statistical package. The categorical variables were described by absolute and relative frequency, while the number by median and interquartile range. Considering the inferential approach, the Spearman test, the Wald chi-square, Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney test were used. The statistically significant variables were those with p values <0.05. The evaluation of the overall averages of NAS, considering the first 15 days of hospitalization, was performed by the analysis of Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), with adjust for the variable length of hospitalization. The sample consisted of 40 patients, in the period of June to August 2014. The results showed a mean age of 62,1 years (±23,4) with a female predominance (57,5%). The most frequent type of treatment was clinical (60,0%), observing an average stay of 6,9 days (±6,5). Considering the origin, most patients (35%) came from the Surgical Center. There was a mortality rate of 27,5%. 277 measures of NAS score and Perroca were performed, and the averages of 69,8% (±24,1) and 22,7% (±4.2) were obtained, respectively. There was an association between clinical outcome and value of the Nursing Activities Score in 24 hours (p <0.001), and between the degree of dependency of patients and nursing workload (rp 0,653, p<0,001). The achieved workload of the nursing staff, in the analyzed period, was presented high, showing that hospitalized patients required a high demand for care. These findings create subsidies for sizing of staff and allocation of human resources in the sector, in order to achieve greater safety and patient satisfaction as a result of intensive care, as well as an environment conducive to quality of life for the professionals
Resumo:
The patient safety is a major concern in health services for its global dimension, as evidenced by the fragility of care processes that predispose an occurrence of adverse events. These events in a neonatal intensive care unit are considered serious and hazardous to lives of newborns. The present study aimed to identify and analyze adverse events in a neonatal intensive care unit based in Trigger Tool. It is an epidemiological, cross-sectional , exploratory, retrospective study with quantitative, descriptive and analytical approach, performed in 2015 at a school hospital. The sample was not probabilistic, involving 116 newborns who met the eligibility criteria. Data collection was performed by retrospective review of medical records, using a specific kind of "trigger" instrument, composed of sentinel events in neonatology, adapted from the American model used by the Vermont-Oxford Network. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The chi-square test for linear trend was used to assess the associations between the variables of interest. The research received a favorable agreement from Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, under number 1055533, and Presentation Certificate for Ethics Assessment 43894515.6.0000.5537. The results show among investigated newborns, 110 experienced at least one adverse event during their stay, with a total of 391 medical records analyzed and rate of 3.37 events per patient. Prevailed the preterm newborns with low birth weight, from mother who had hypertensive diseases during pregnancy and urinary tract infection. The average hospitalization time was 25 days, associated with hospital-acquired infections events (p = 0.01). Among the identified adverse events stood out the events related to thermoregulation disorders (39.0%), with prevalence of hypothermia (26.0%), followed by health care-related infections (16.4%) and blood glucose disorders, hypoglycemia (9.00%) and hyperglycemia (6.64%). Most of these incidents were classified in categories E and F, which represents that there was damage small proportion. Due to these damages come from the care practice with newborn, 78% were classified as avoidable. There was statistically significant association between the variable birth weight with infections (p = 0.006) as well as peri/intraventricular bleeding (p = 0.02), hypoglycemia (p = 0.021), hyperglycemia (p = 0.001), hyperthermia (p = 0.39) and death (p=0,02). Gestational age was associated with seizures (p = 0.002), hyperglycemia (p=0.017) e hyperthermia (p=0.027). The security institution culture was reported by the health workers as intermediate, even though the number of adverse events found in only one unit of service indicates that there is much to be done. Thus the high rate of adverse events identified in the neonatal intensive care unit reinforces the necessity to elaborate specific preventive strategies for this risk environment.
Resumo:
The patient safety is a major concern in health services for its global dimension, as evidenced by the fragility of care processes that predispose an occurrence of adverse events. These events in a neonatal intensive care unit are considered serious and hazardous to lives of newborns. The present study aimed to identify and analyze adverse events in a neonatal intensive care unit based in Trigger Tool. It is an epidemiological, cross-sectional , exploratory, retrospective study with quantitative, descriptive and analytical approach, performed in 2015 at a school hospital. The sample was not probabilistic, involving 116 newborns who met the eligibility criteria. Data collection was performed by retrospective review of medical records, using a specific kind of "trigger" instrument, composed of sentinel events in neonatology, adapted from the American model used by the Vermont-Oxford Network. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The chi-square test for linear trend was used to assess the associations between the variables of interest. The research received a favorable agreement from Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, under number 1055533, and Presentation Certificate for Ethics Assessment 43894515.6.0000.5537. The results show among investigated newborns, 110 experienced at least one adverse event during their stay, with a total of 391 medical records analyzed and rate of 3.37 events per patient. Prevailed the preterm newborns with low birth weight, from mother who had hypertensive diseases during pregnancy and urinary tract infection. The average hospitalization time was 25 days, associated with hospital-acquired infections events (p = 0.01). Among the identified adverse events stood out the events related to thermoregulation disorders (39.0%), with prevalence of hypothermia (26.0%), followed by health care-related infections (16.4%) and blood glucose disorders, hypoglycemia (9.00%) and hyperglycemia (6.64%). Most of these incidents were classified in categories E and F, which represents that there was damage small proportion. Due to these damages come from the care practice with newborn, 78% were classified as avoidable. There was statistically significant association between the variable birth weight with infections (p = 0.006) as well as peri/intraventricular bleeding (p = 0.02), hypoglycemia (p = 0.021), hyperglycemia (p = 0.001), hyperthermia (p = 0.39) and death (p=0,02). Gestational age was associated with seizures (p = 0.002), hyperglycemia (p=0.017) e hyperthermia (p=0.027). The security institution culture was reported by the health workers as intermediate, even though the number of adverse events found in only one unit of service indicates that there is much to be done. Thus the high rate of adverse events identified in the neonatal intensive care unit reinforces the necessity to elaborate specific preventive strategies for this risk environment.
Resumo:
BONACCINI, J. A. . Sobre o tempo. Princípios: revista de filosofia. Natal((RN), v. 5, n. 6, p. 123-138, 1998. ISSN 1983-2109. Disponivel em:
Resumo:
A duração das operações pode representar um fator importante para uma série de complicações pós-operatórias, especialmente para os indivíduos idosos. Objetivo: estudar a repercussão nos pulmões, de operações de diferentes tempos de duração. Métodos: Vinte ratos idosos (18 meses) e 20 jovens (3 meses) foram separados aleatoriamente em grupos A e B respectivamente. Os grupos foram divididos em A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, B3 and B4, com cinco ratos cada. Os animais foram anestesiados com pentobarbital (20mg/Kg) intraperitoneal. No subgrupo A1 e B1 foi feita operação com duração de 30 minutos, nos grupos A2 and B2 60 minutos, em A3 and B3 a operação foi feita em 120 minuto e os animais A4 e B4 (controle) não foram operados. O procedimento consistiu de laparotomia xifopubiana que foi aberta e fechada tantas vezes quanto necessário para atingir os tempos estipulados. Após o quinto dia pós-operatório os animais foram mortos com superdose de anestésico e biópsias de ambos os pulmões foram realizadas. Os achados histopatológicos foram transformados em escores. Resultados: os grupos de ratos jovens atingiram os escores: A1= escore 6, A2=11; A3=28; A4=5. Os ratos idosos tiveram os escores: B1=12; B2=34; B3=51 e B4=6. A análise estatística revelou diferenças significantes entre os escores dos grupos A e B. Conclusões: O tempo prolongado nas operações realizadas em ratos idosos contribuiu para o aparecimento de alterações pulmonares de modo significante. Quanto maior o tempo operatório, mais intensas e mais freqüentes as complicações pulmonares
Resumo:
A duração das operações pode representar um fator importante para uma série de complicações pós-operatórias, especialmente para os indivíduos idosos. Objetivo: estudar a repercussão nos pulmões, de operações de diferentes tempos de duração. Métodos: Vinte ratos idosos (18 meses) e 20 jovens (3 meses) foram separados aleatoriamente em grupos A e B respectivamente. Os grupos foram divididos em A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, B3 and B4, com cinco ratos cada. Os animais foram anestesiados com pentobarbital (20mg/Kg) intraperitoneal. No subgrupo A1 e B1 foi feita operação com duração de 30 minutos, nos grupos A2 and B2 60 minutos, em A3 and B3 a operação foi feita em 120 minuto e os animais A4 e B4 (controle) não foram operados. O procedimento consistiu de laparotomia xifopubiana que foi aberta e fechada tantas vezes quanto necessário para atingir os tempos estipulados. Após o quinto dia pós-operatório os animais foram mortos com superdose de anestésico e biópsias de ambos os pulmões foram realizadas. Os achados histopatológicos foram transformados em escores. Resultados: os grupos de ratos jovens atingiram os escores: A1= escore 6, A2=11; A3=28; A4=5. Os ratos idosos tiveram os escores: B1=12; B2=34; B3=51 e B4=6. A análise estatística revelou diferenças significantes entre os escores dos grupos A e B. Conclusões: O tempo prolongado nas operações realizadas em ratos idosos contribuiu para o aparecimento de alterações pulmonares de modo significante. Quanto maior o tempo operatório, mais intensas e mais freqüentes as complicações pulmonares
Resumo:
Forecast is the basis for making strategic, tactical and operational business decisions. In financial economics, several techniques have been used to predict the behavior of assets over the past decades.Thus, there are several methods to assist in the task of time series forecasting, however, conventional modeling techniques such as statistical models and those based on theoretical mathematical models have produced unsatisfactory predictions, increasing the number of studies in more advanced methods of prediction. Among these, the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are a relatively new and promising method for predicting business that shows a technique that has caused much interest in the financial environment and has been used successfully in a wide variety of financial modeling systems applications, in many cases proving its superiority over the statistical models ARIMA-GARCH. In this context, this study aimed to examine whether the ANNs are a more appropriate method for predicting the behavior of Indices in Capital Markets than the traditional methods of time series analysis. For this purpose we developed an quantitative study, from financial economic indices, and developed two models of RNA-type feedfoward supervised learning, whose structures consisted of 20 data in the input layer, 90 neurons in one hidden layer and one given as the output layer (Ibovespa). These models used backpropagation, an input activation function based on the tangent sigmoid and a linear output function. Since the aim of analyzing the adherence of the Method of Artificial Neural Networks to carry out predictions of the Ibovespa, we chose to perform this analysis by comparing results between this and Time Series Predictive Model GARCH, developing a GARCH model (1.1).Once applied both methods (ANN and GARCH) we conducted the results' analysis by comparing the results of the forecast with the historical data and by studying the forecast errors by the MSE, RMSE, MAE, Standard Deviation, the Theil's U and forecasting encompassing tests. It was found that the models developed by means of ANNs had lower MSE, RMSE and MAE than the GARCH (1,1) model and Theil U test indicated that the three models have smaller errors than those of a naïve forecast. Although the ANN based on returns have lower precision indicator values than those of ANN based on prices, the forecast encompassing test rejected the hypothesis that this model is better than that, indicating that the ANN models have a similar level of accuracy . It was concluded that for the data series studied the ANN models show a more appropriate Ibovespa forecasting than the traditional models of time series, represented by the GARCH model
Resumo:
In the last years, heparin has become target of many studies related to inflammation due its ability of biding to proteins involved on immune response. Recently, it was demonstrated, at our laboratory, using a thIoglycollate-induced peritonitis model, heparin s capacity of reduce cellular influx into the peritoneal cavity, 3 hours after the inflammatory stimulus. Once neutrophilic infiltration is highest around 8 hours after the inflammatory stimulus, at the present work, using the same peritonitis model, it was assessed heparin s ability of keeping the interference on leukocyte infiltration, 8 hours after inflammation induction. Moreover, using cellular differential count, it was evaluated how the cellular populations involved in the inflammatory process would be affected by the treatment. Eight hours after the inflammatory stimulus, only heparin dosage of 1 μg/Kg was able to reduce the cellular influx to peritoneum, 62.8% of reduction when compared to positive control (p < 0.001). Furthermore, heparin dosage of 15 μg/Kg presented a pro-inflammatory effect in whole blood verified by the increase of 60.9% (p < 0.001) and 117.8% (p < 0.001) on neutrophils and monocytes proportion, respectively, when compared to positive control. In addition, this dosage also presented a neutrophilic proportion on peritoneal fluid 27.3% higher than positive control (p < 0.05). This duality between anti- and pro-inflammatory effects at different times corroborates studies that attribute a pleiotropic immunomodulator role to heparin.
Resumo:
The new oil reservoirs discoveries in onshore and ultra deep water offshore fields and complex trajectories require the optimization of procedures to reduce the stops operation during the well drilling, especially because the platforms and equipment high cost, and risks which are inherent to the operation. Among the most important aspects stands out the drilling fluids project and their behavior against different situations that may occur during the process. By means of sedimentation experiments, a correlation has been validated to determe the sedimentation particles velocity in variable viscosity fluids over time, applying the correction due to effective viscosity that is a shear rate and time function. The viscosity evolution over time was obtained by carrying out rheologic tests using a fixed shear rate, small enough to not interfere in the fluid gelling process. With the sedimentation particles velocity and the fluid viscosity over time equations an iterative procedure was proposed to determine the particles displacement over time. These equations were implemented in a case study to simulate the cuttings sedimentation generated in the oil well drilling during stops operation, especially in the connections and tripping, allowing the drilling fluid project in order to maintain the cuttings in suspension, avoiding risks, such as stuck pipe and in more drastic conditions, the loss of the well
Resumo:
Many challenges have been presented in petroleum industry. One of them is the preventing of fluids influx during drilling and cementing. Gas migration can occur as result of pressure imbalance inside the well when well pressure becomes lower than gas zone pressure and in cementing operation this occurs during cement slurry transition period (solid to fluid). In this work it was developed a methodology to evaluate gas migration during drilling and cementing operations. It was considered gel strength concept and through experimental tests determined gas migration initial time. A mechanistic model was developed to obtain equation that evaluates bubble displacement through the fluid while it gels. Being a time-dependant behavior, dynamic rheological measurements were made to evaluate viscosity along the time. For drilling fluids analyzed it was verified that it is desirable fast and non-progressive gelation in order to reduce gas migration without affect operational window (difference between pore and fracture pressure). For cement slurries analyzed, the most appropriate is that remains fluid for more time below critical gel strength, maintaining hydrostatic pressure above gas zone pressure, and after that gels quickly, reducing gas migration. The model developed simulates previously operational conditions and allow changes in operational and fluids design to obtain a safer condition for well construction
Resumo:
Investigate intrahospital and neonatal determinants associated to the weaning of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Methods: 119 VLBW (<1500g) infants 81 were monitored from July 2005 through August 2006, from birth to the first ambulatory visit after maternity discharge. This maternity unit uses the Kangaroo Method and the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. Results: Out of 119 VLBW infants monitored until discharge, 88 (75%) returned to the facility, 22 (25%) were on exclusive breastfeeding (EB) and 66 (75%) were weaned (partial breastfeeding or formula feeding). Univariate analysis found an association between weaning and lower birth weight, longer stays in the NICU and longer hospitalization times, in addition to more prolonged enteral feeding and birth weight recovery period. Logistic regression showed length of NICU stay as being the main determinant of weaning. Conclusion: The negative repercussion on EB of an extended stay in the NICU is a significant challenge for health professionals to provide more adequate nutrition to VLBW infants