The NeoIPC Consortium is excited to share a major update in the NeoDeco study: a second group of 14 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Greece, Spain, Italy and the UK have now been randomised. With this, all 24 participating NICUs across Europe are officially in the intervention phase of the study.

NeoDeco is a European multicenter study evaluating whether optimised Kangaroo Care can reduce infection rates in high-risk babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The study began in June 2024 with the first group ("stagger") of 10 NICUs in Greece and Switzerland, followed by a second stagger of 14 NICUs that were activated between February and April 2025.NICUs have been randomly assigned to one of two study groups:

• Intervention group: NICUs in this group will start applying optimised kangaroo care to all high-risk newborns for whom it’s clinically suitable, and receive tailored site-level support aimed at overcoming obstacles to effective implementation;
• Control group: NICUs in the control group will continue to apply their current practices in the NICU.

NICUs in both the intervention and control group will perform continuous surveillance of hospital-acquired infections, using the NeoIPC surveillance system, and conduct regular colonisation assessments through online data collection and stool sample collection. 

NeoDeco addresses a critical issue: neonatal sepsis and infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria remain a serious threat to newborns in intensive care. By assessing whether optimised Kangaroo Care can reduce bacterial colonisation and subsequent infections, the study aims to transform infection prevention in NICUs across Europe and beyond.

With all 24 NICUs now active in the intervention phase, NeoDeco is fully underway, charting a path toward safer, evidence-based, and cost-effective care for the most vulnerable infants.