ObjectiveIn the early life of preterm infants, the relationship between heart function and length of hospitalization is unclear. This study aims to examine the association between serum NT-proBNP level on the 7th day (NT-proBNP7) after birth and length of hospitalization among preterm infants.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted. Patients included 709 preterm infants born at 28–31 weeks' gestational age (GA) admitted to the NICU of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between December 20, 2016, to April 31, 2021. Main outcome: Late discharge (postmenstrual age at discharge was in the fourth quartile (highest) among infants born at the same GA). Exposure factor: NT-proBNP7.ResultsWe observed increased prevalence ratios for late discharge among the tertile of logarithm of NT-proBNP7 level (LnNT-proBNP7) which was positive. Compared with the lowest tertile, infants in the highest tertile of LnNT-proBNP7 had an 8.4-fold increased probability of late discharge, and the results were consistent for the subgroups. Next, a non-linear (S-shaped) relationship between LnNT-proBNP7 and late discharge was observed, whose turning points were 7.5 and 9. The effect sizes and the confidence intervals on the left of the first turning point, between two turning points and on the right of the second turning point, were 0.6 (95% CI, 0.2–1.6), 5.0 (95% CI, 2.4–10.6), and 1.1 (95% CI, 0.2–6.1), respectively. In addition, the prevalence of BPD, NEC, nosocomial infection, or any of them was highest in the group of LnNT-proBNP7 ≥ 9, lowest in the group of LnNT-proBNP7 < 7.5.ConclusionHigher NT-proBNP7 levels were associated with longer hospitalization. The relationship between LnNT-proBNP7 and late discharge was S-shaped. LnNT-proBNP7 was positively related with late discharge when LnNT-proBNP7 was between 7.5 and 9.

Previous studies have shown that superior developmental feedback (SDF) has a mixed impact on employees’ long-term development, but its effect on job satisfaction (JS) has been generally ignored. Therefore, this study proposes and tests a model based on the conservation of resources theory to shed light on how feedback from a leader or superior may increase employees’ JS. In this study, researchers analyzed responses from a two-stage questionnaire distributed to 296 employees to test the proposed hypotheses using MPlus 7.4 software. The results show that employee resilience (ER) partially mediates the link between SDF and JS. The results also indicate that the relationship between SDF and ER is strengthened by job complexity (JC). The results provide novel avenues for further study and practice in the areas of SDF and JS.

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