Characteristics of neonates with low birth weight under 1500 g at the Pediatric Center, Hue Central Hospital

Abstract

Background: Very low birth weight neonates account for only 4 - 7% of all live births but require a great deal of time, care, and medical resources. Very low birth weight babies are mostly under 32 weeks and premature babies less than 1500 g have a 247.6 times higher risk of death than babies weighing more than 3000 g. Objective: To describe the characteristics and identify some risk factors involved in the mortality of neonates weighing less than 1500 g. Materials and methods: Longitudinal follow-up study on 184 neonates at the Department of Neonatology, Pediatrics Center - Hue Central Hospital from May 2019 to June 2021. Results: The median weight of the study group was 1000 (809 – 1200)g, the median gestational age was 28 (26 - 30) weeks, the male/female ratio was 1.5:1. Neonatal sepsis was the most common disease accounting for 88.0%, and septic shock accounted for 13.0%; acute respiratory distress syndrome accounted for 77.7%; the rate of pulmonary hemorrhage and pneumothorax was 22.8% and 8.7%, respectively; intraventricular hemorrhage accounted for 10.7% and severe asphyxia accounted for 13.6%; 71.7% of neonates had indirect hyperbilirubinemia and 71.2% of neonates had anemia; the rates of hypothermia, hypoglycemia, and hyperglycemia were 47.8%; 25.5% and 16.3%, respectively. The neonatal mortality rate was 41.8% and early neonatal mortality accounted for 3/4 of neonatal mortality. The final multivariable logistic regression model indicated that the risk factors for death were: less than 2 doses of antenatal dexamethasone (OR = 2.5; 95%CI: 1.0 - 6.0; p < 0.05), birth weight < 1000 g (OR = 3.5; 95%CI: 1.4 - 8.5; p < 0.05), gestational age < 28 weeks (OR = 4.2; 95%CI: 1.5 - 11.8; p < 0.05), pulmonary hemorrhage (OR = 5.3; 95%CI: 1.9 - 14.9; p < 0.05), severe asphyxia (OR = 4.7; 95%CI: 1.2 - 18.0; p < 0.05) and septic shock (OR = 6.2; 95%CI: 1.9 - 20.3; p < 0.05). Key words: very low birth weight, pathological characteristics, mortality risk