The NeoIPC Consortium is thrilled to announce a significant milestone in the NeoDeco study: a first group of 10 NICUs have successfully completed the initial study phase and are now moving into the wash-in and intervention phase!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. These NICUs have now completed the baseline data collection phase and have now been randomised into one of two study arms:

• 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 is poised for expansion to additional countries. Over the next few months, two additional NICUs in Greece, and 12 NICUs from Italy, Spain and the UK will join the study, bringing the total number of participating units to 24.Neonatal sepsis and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections pose a significant threat to newborns in the NICU, with the potential to affect their immediate and long-term health. By evaluating the effectiveness of optimised kangaroo care in protecting newborns from being colonised by resistant bacteria found in the hospital environment, NeoDeco aims to improve neonatal infection prevention practices across Europe and beyond, offering a low-cost, high-impact intervention that could save lives and reduce antimicrobial resistance rates in NICUs.