Preterm birth remains a major public health concern and is increasingly associated with long-term neurodevelopmental impairments as survival improves. The Clinical Center of the University of Pécs developed an integrated care model that links inpatient early intervention with structured outpatient neurodevelopmental follow-up and physiotherapy, aiming to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes among infants born preterm.
The study aimed to present the integrated care pathway (the "Pécs model") applied at the Clinical Center of the University of Pécs and to describe institutional follow-up data on the implementation and utilization of early intervention, neurodevelopmental, and physiotherapy services.
This was a retrospective, single-center study of newborns treated at the Clinical Center of the University of Pécs between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2025. The investigators extracted demographic, perinatal, and neonatal parameters and documented the types and frequency of neurodevelopmental and physiotherapy care interventions provided.
Inferential statistics included the Mann–Whitney U test and the Kruskal–Wallis test to compare groups, with statistical significance defined as p<0.05. Analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 32.0). The abstract reports descriptive and inferential statistical approaches but does not present additional modeling or multivariable adjustments in the abstract itself.
The analyzed cohort comprised 27,378 newborns. The overall rate of preterm birth within this population was 14.98%, which the authors attribute to the institution’s function as a regional level III care center.
Compared with term infants, preterm infants had significantly lower Apgar scores, lower birth weights, and longer hospital stays (p<0.001). The abstract indicates that perinatal indicators improved progressively with increasing gestational age.
Early interventions were implemented during hospitalization for a subset of infants. A total of 1,308 newborns received early in-hospital interventions. The reported components of early intervention included:
These measures were applied during the inpatient period as part of the institution’s integrated care approach.
Across the study period, 4,085 children received neurodevelopmental and physiotherapy services through the institutional program. Follow-up care was organized within the Neurodevelopmental Outpatient Clinic of the Institute of Medical Genetics, with children followed until 2 years of age under this framework.
The follow-up pathway combined multidisciplinary assessments and physiotherapy interventions, reflecting the model’s emphasis on structured, long-term monitoring and early therapeutic input.
Group comparisons were performed using nonparametric tests (Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis). Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. The investigators conducted analyses using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 32.0. The abstract reports significant differences in key neonatal outcomes (Apgar, birth weight, length of stay) between preterm and term infants, with p<0.001 for these comparisons.
The authors interpret these findings to support the feasibility and perceived value of combining early intervention during hospitalization with organized long-term multidisciplinary follow-up.
The authors conclude that the Pécs model, integrating early in-hospital intervention with structured multidisciplinary follow-up including physiotherapy and neurodevelopmental assessment up to 2 years, provides an effective care framework for preterm infants. The reported institutional data are presented to support the importance of organized, long-term follow-up in aiming for favorable neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Clinicians and program planners can view this model as an example of linking neonatal therapy services with outpatient neurodevelopmental clinics to ensure continuity of care for high-risk infants.
The abstract does not present detailed limitations of the analysis. As reported, this is a retrospective, single-center study; specific limitations related to selection, loss to follow-up, outcome measures, or potential confounding are not detailed in the abstract and were not reported in the source material provided.
Keywords: preterm birth, Pécs model, early intervention, neurodevelopmental follow-up, physiotherapy