A study of neonatal morbidity and mortality at Damanhour Teaching Hospital Newborn Unit

Newborns in Behira governorate represented 2.5% of total Behira population in 2000. In Damanhour teaching hospital 4040 live births were delivered during one year from 1st January 1995 to 31st December 1995. During this period an observational study of morbidity and mortality of the newborn unit (NBU) attendants was performed. The total number of admitted neonates to the newborn unit were 557, of those 307 were borne in hospital (representing 7.6% of total hospital deliveries) and 250 were admitted from outside the hospital. The number of eligible neonates for the study were 544, they spent 2355 days in the unit, thirteen neonates were excluded from the analysis. The low birth weight (< 2500 gm) were 218 (40% of studied cases). According to Dubowitz score, Infants were classified as appropriate for gestational age (AGA) 60.7%, small for gestational age (SGA) 27.6% and large for gestational age (LGA) 11.8%. Neonates with birth weight < 1500 gm and gestational age < 28 weeks had the worst prognosis with a mortality rate of 60.3% and 65.1% respectively. All neonates had 738 morbid conditions, the major causes were prematurity 262 (35.5%), respiratory distress (RD) 200 (27%) hyperbilirubinaemia 115 (15.6%) and sepsis 58 (7.9%). Most of the cases (73.9%) were admitted on the day of birth. The mortality rate was 28.5%. The leading causes of mortality were, RD ( 34.8% of all deaths), prematurity (32.9%) and sepsis (15.5%). Neonatal convulsions and congenital anomalies had highest case fatality rates (50% for each). Most of deaths (51%) occurred on the first day of admission. "The early results of this work was presented at the 6th international conference of the General Organization of "Teaching Hospitals and Institutes (GOTHI) "Health Services..... Present and future" 7-9 November 2001".