Postconceptional age as the basis for neonatal case management.

Managing the care of the very preterm infant can become a maze of diagnoses, treatments, and tests that blur progress and expectations along an infant's extended course in the NICU. Yet the health care environment demands that comprehensive, high-quality, cost-effective care be provided each infant and family entrusted to our care. Critical pathways based on gestational age at birth and postconceptional age throughout the hospital stay facilitate the necessary goal-oriented, interdisciplinary approach to infant care by providing consistency, flexibility, and quality management.