Factors Associated with the Death of Preterm Babies Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Ethiopia: A Prospective, Cross-sectional, and Observational Study.
Amha MekashaZelalem TazuLulu M MuheMahlet AbaynehGoitom GebreyesusAbayneh GirmaMelkamu Berhane ArefayineElizabeth M McClureRobert L GoldenbergAssaye K NigussiePublished in: Global pediatric health (2020)
Aim. To determine the risk factors for death among preterm neonates. Methods and materials. The data set used was derived from a prospective, multi-center, observational clinical study conducted in 5 tertiary hospitals in Ethiopia from July, 2016 to May, 2018. Subjects were infants admitted into neonatal intensive care unit. Results. Risk factors were determined using statistical model developed for this study. The mean gestational age was 32.87 (SD ± 2.42) weeks with a range of 20 to 36 weeks. There were 2667 (70.69%) survivors and 1106 (29.31%) deaths. The significant risk factors for preterm death were low gestational age, low birth weight, being female, feeding problem, no antenatal care visits and vaginal delivery among mothers with higher educational level. Conclusions. The study identified several risk factors for death among preterm neonates. Most of the risk factors are preventable. Thus, it is important to address neonatal and maternal factors identified in this study through appropriate ANC and optimum infant medical care and feeding practices to decrease the high rate of preterm death.
Keyphrases
- gestational age
- preterm birth
- low birth weight
- birth weight
- preterm infants
- human milk
- risk factors
- healthcare
- cross sectional
- intensive care unit
- clinical trial
- young adults
- quality improvement
- physical activity
- electronic health record
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- big data
- adverse drug
- artificial intelligence
- data analysis