Mortality and morbidity of very low-birthweight and extremely low-birthweight infants in a tertiary hospital in Tshwane (original) (raw)

Background. Since 2000, South Africa (SA) has had a relatively static neonatal mortality rate, estimated to be 12/1 000 live births, with complications of prematurity being the leading cause of neonatal mortality. Survival to hospital discharge of small infants has improved over the last few decades; however, this is more marked in developed countries where neonatal intensive care, nasal continuous positive airway pressure, mechanical ventilation and surfactant are available to the majority of infants. Objectives. The primary objective was to determine overall mortality of very low-birthweight and extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants in the neonatal unit at Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH). Secondary objectives were to determine the frequency of major morbidities, identify factors associated with morbidity and mortality, determine survival without major morbidity, and whether birthweight can accurately predict outcome. Methods. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study...