ARTICLE

Volume 10,Issue 4

Cite this article
9
Citations
30
Views
20 December 2025

The Impact of the “Golden Hour” Management Protocol on Clinical Outcomes in Preterm Infants: A Research Analysis

Ping Liu1
Show Less
1 Yiyang Central Hospital, Yiyang 413000, Hunan, China
APM 2025 , 10(4), 28–34; https://doi.org/10.18063/APM.v10i4.1022
© 2025 by the Author. Licensee Whioce Publishing, Singapore. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Objective: To explore the effectiveness of the “Golden Hour” management protocol in improving clinical outcomes for preterm infants and to provide clinical references for their treatment. Methods: Forty preterm infants delivered in the obstetrics department of Yiyang Central Hospital from January 2023 to January 2024 and managed under the “Golden Hour” protocol were selected as the observation group. Another forty preterm infants born from January 2022 to December 2022 without the “Golden Hour” management were chosen as the control group. The incidence of early complications, length of hospital stays, medical expenses, and long-term prognosis indicators were compared between the two groups. Results: The observation group showed significantly lower incidences of intracranial hemorrhage (5.00%), chronic lung disease (7.50%), and retinopathy of prematurity (2.50%) compared to the control group (20.00%, 22.50%, and 15.00%, respectively), with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). The observation group also had a significantly shorter hospital stay (28.56 ± 5.32 days) and lower medical expenses (32,500 ± 8,600 yuan) compared to the control group (35.12 ± 6.45 days and 41,800 ± 10,200 yuan, respectively), with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). Additionally, the observation group had a significantly higher pass rate in neonatal neurobehavioral assessment (90.00%) compared to the control group (70.00%), with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The “Golden Hour” management protocol can effectively reduce the incidence of early complications in preterm infants, shorten hospital stays, decrease medical expenses, and improve long-term prognosis, making it worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Keywords
Golden hour management
Preterm infants
Clinical outcomes
Complications
Prognosis
References

[1] Yu L, Huang C, Jia X, et al., 2025, Application Effect of Nursing Intervention Based on High-Fidelity Model Simulation Training in the “Golden Hour” Care of Extremely Preterm Infants After Birth. Chinese Community Doctors, 41(08): 90–92.

[2] Xue R, Li X, Li L, et al., 2023, Impact of Optimized Antibiotic Management on Short-Term Clinical Outcomes of Preterm Infants with a Gestational Age of Less Than 32 Weeks. Clinical Focus, 38(08): 706–713.

[3] Wang Z, Zheng J, 2023, Application of Standardized Management Combined with Continuous Nursing Model in the Care of Preterm Infants. Journal of Women and Children’s Health, 2(15): 164–166.

[4] Zhu S, Tan X, Deng L, 2023, Impact of Family-Participated Care in Neonatal Intensive Care Units on the Management of Extremely Low Birth Weight Preterm Infants. Journal of Changzhi Medical College, 37(04): 291–293.

[5] Yue Q, Tao J, Lan H, et al., 2023, Summary of the Best Evidence for Cue-Based Feeding Management in Preterm Infants. Journal of Nursing Science, 38(14): 21–26.

[6] Sun Y, Hu Q, Liang Z, et al., 2023, Application Effect of the Rescue Model for Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants in the Golden Hour with a Path-Oriented Approach. Guangxi Medical Journal, 45(12): 1509–1513.

[7] Gao X, Yang J, Zhang Q, et al., 2023, Effects of Different Body Position Management on Respiratory Function, Blood Oxygen Saturation, and Blood Pressure in Preterm Infants. Hebei Medical Journal, 45(11): 1661–1663 + 1667.

[8] He J, 2023, Relationship Between Early Fluid Balance and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Preterm Infants Less Than 32 Weeks, thesis, Central South University.

[9] Zhang X, 2023, Construction and Application of a Training Program for NICU Nurses on Body Position Management of Preterm Infants Based on the ADDIE Model, thesis, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

[10] Sun Y, Hu Q, Zhen H, et al., 2021, Research Progress on Rescue Measures for Preterm Infants in the Golden Hour After Birth. Sichuan Medical Journal, 42(02): 200–204.

Share
Back to top