A Prospective Observational Study of Short Term Outcome in Preterm Neonates Delivered in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background Preterm refers to a newborn whose gestational age is fewer than 37 full weeks and it claim the lives of almost 1 million children annually. Disease patterns in preterm newborns differ from location to location and even within a single location. Therefore, in order to create effective strategies to deal with serious preterm morbidities, it is essential to conduct regular neonatal audits. Objective To study the short term outcome of preterm neonates delivered in a level III neonatal intensive care unit. Methods A hospital based prospective observational study was conducted in neonatal intensive care unit, during February 2022 to July 2022 in a in a level III neonatal intensive care unit. All the inborn preterm neonates of less than 37 weeks of gestation were included and assessed for morbidity pattern. Results A total of 192 preterm neonates were included in the study. Ninety seven (50.5%) were male and 95(49.5%) were female. The major morbidities observed in the preterm neonates were respiratory distress syndrome in 62.5 %, apnea of prematurity 36.9 %, hyperbilirubinemia in 27 %, and hypoglycaemia in 18.23%. Other common morbidities seen were retinopathy of prematurity in 12.17%, culture proven sepsis in 9.42% intraventricular haemorrhage in 9.3%, broncho pulmonary dysplasia in 5.26% and patent ductus arteriosus in 5.24%. Conclusions The major short term morbidities of preterm neonates are respiratory distress syndrome, hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycemia and apnea of prematurity. Keywords: Preterm, short term morbidity, respiratory distress, apnea of prematurity and hyperbilirubinemia.