External Validation of the Neonatal Mortality Risk-2000 Score to Predict In-Hospital Mortality in Neonates Weighing...

The authors aimed to externally validate the Neonatal Mortality Risk-2000 (NMR-2000) score, a simplified tool to predict in-hospital mortality in the setting of a tertiary care hospital. They conducted a single-center prospective cohort study on neonates weighing ≤ 2000 g who were admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit within 6 h of age. The predictors included in the NMR-2000 score were birth weight, SpO₂ at admission, and the highest level of respiratory support during the first 24 h of life. The outcome was in-hospital mortality. Among 243 neonates ≤ 2000 g, there were 94 (38.7%) deaths. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value for the NMR score was 0.84 (95% CI 0.79-0.89) in the present sample. The calibration slope was 1, and the intercept was 0. The NMR-2000 score had good discriminating ability and calibration to predict in-hospital mortality.