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Neonatal near miss: a systematic review
Juliana P Santos1, Cynthia Pileggi-Castro2, Jose S Camelo3
1Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, School of Medicine, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil. jupfsantos@hotmail.com.
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
|December 3, 2015
Summary
Neonatal near miss cases, identified by preterm birth and perinatal asphyxia, occur 2.6 to 8 times more frequently than neonatal mortality. These criteria aid in assessing neonatal care quality and predicting mortality.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Quality improvement
- Public health
Background:
- The concept of neonatal near miss is proposed for assessing care quality in critically ill neonates.
- Currently, no international consensus exists for defining or identifying neonatal near miss cases.
- This study addresses the need for standardized criteria in neonatal near miss assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review studies identifying neonatal near miss cases.
- To identify markers capable of predicting neonatal mortality.
- To establish a foundation for developing management strategies to reduce neonatal mortality.
Main Methods:
- Conducted systematic electronic searches in Medline, Embase, and Scielo databases until December 2014.
- Utilized search terms including "neonatal near miss" combined with neonatal morbidity, mortality, and severity scores.
- Employed a three-step study selection process (title, abstract, full text) with independent data extraction by two researchers.
Main Results:
- Four studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review.
- Preterm birth and perinatal asphyxia were consistently used as neonatal near miss markers.
- The neonatal near miss rate was found to be 2.6 to 8 times higher than the neonatal mortality rate.
Conclusions:
- Pragmatic and management criteria are crucial for developing the neonatal near miss concept.
- These criteria effectively identify severe neonatal cases and predict mortality.
- The neonatal near miss concept serves as a vital tool for evaluating and improving neonatal care quality, aiming to reduce mortality and long-term sequelae.
