Research Article
Moges Workneh Ayele, Gebire Yi
Abstract
Background: Globally, preterm birth and its complications have become major public health problems, which account 28% of all neonatal deaths; it is also accompanied by substantial perinatal morbidity. Objective: To assess treatment outcomes and associated factors of preterm birth of neonates admitted in a neonatal intensive care unit of a Dessie Referral Hospital, Ethiopia. Methods and materials: This study employed cross-sectional study design to review medical records of 290 preterm birth neonates retrospectively using simple random sampling technique during the past three years prior to this data collection period (January 2013 to January 2016) admitted in Dessie Referral Hospital. The data were collected using pre-tested and structured checklist and then entered, cleaned and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Results were presented in the form of tables and narrations. Crude odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio analysis were performed to test the association between poor treatment outcomes of preterm birth neonates and associated factors. Results: Overall survival proportion of neonates at hospital discharge was 62.1%, while the mortality rate was (30.9%). Gestational age (AOR=2.60; CI: 1.24-5.47), Apgar score at 5 minutes (AOR=7.54; CI: 2.150-26.44), sex (AOR=1.88; CI: 1.031- 3.42), types of feeding (AOR=7.09; CI: 3.20- 20.43) and place of delivery (AOR=2.47; CI: 1.33 -4.58) were factors associated with poor treatment outcomes of preterm birth neonates. The commonest medical conditions were hypothermia in 129 (44.5%) followed by respiratory problems in 108 (37.2%) and jaundice in 57 (19.6%) of the patients. Conclusion: Gestational age, APGAR score at 5 minutes, sex, and place of delivery were among the factors associated with poor treatment outcomes of preterm birth neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care unit of Dessie Referral Hospital. The mortality rate of preterm neonates observed in this study was high which indicates that the survival of preterm neonates must be improved.