EFETIVIDADE DA INTERVENÇÃO FONOAUDIOLÓGICA NO TEMPO DE ALTA HOSPITALAR DO RECÉM-NASCIDO PRÉ-TERMO Effectiveness of speech, language and hearing therapy in hospital discharge of pre-term newborns

ABSTRACTPurpose: to assess the efficacy of speech therapy in reducing hospital time in pre-term newborns. Methods: comparing 46 pre-term infants between 2000 and 2002 in Marly Sarney maternity when thespeech therapy service was not available in that hospital for 50 pre-term infants between 2002 and2004 when that service was initiated. Data was obtained from patient charts. Results: among the preterm newborns, those that received speech therapy had a shorter hospitalization time: 88% weredischarged between day 1 and day 10, 8% between day 11 and day 20 and just 2% stayed between 41and 50 days and 2% 61 and 70 days. Among those who did not undergo speech therapy just 47,9%were discharged between day 1 and day 10 17,7% of these patients were discharged between the 11 th and the 20 th day, 10,4% were discharged between the 21st and 30th days, 9,4% were dischargedbetween 31 and 40 days, 9,4% were discharged between 41 and 50 days, 3,1% were dischargedbetween 51 and 60 days and 2,1% were discharged between 61 and 70 days. This aspect wasstatistically significant (p-value< 0.000).