Postnatal SNAP-II scores in neonatal intensive care unit patients: relationship to sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and death.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if daily SNAP-II scores (Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology) after the first day are useful in identifying neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients who die or develop sepsis or necrotizing enterocolitis.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective data were collected on all 141 admissions to a university level III NICU over 4 months. SNAPPE-II scores were calculated from the day of admission and SNAP-II scores from subsequent hospital days. The scores were compared between those who developed events and those who did not.

RESULTS: At least 64% of the daily SNAP-II scores on the day of and the preceding 4 days from the event were 0. Admission SNAPPE-II scores correlated with length of stay (r = 0.44, p < 0.01) but patient average SNAP-II did not (r = 0.02, p > 0.5).

CONCLUSIONS: SNAP-II scores from after the first day of life did not accurately assess or predict neonatal morbidity and mortality.