MAJOR MORBIDITY AND SURVIVAL OF EXTREMELY PRETERM INFANTS IN TERTIARY HOSPITAL

Abstract

The retrospective study was conducted in the Peadiatrics Department of Nishter Medical Hospital & CH & ICH Multan from January 2010 to January 2020 to evaluate major morbidity and survival rate in extremely preterm infants. A total of 9095 infants were included in the study. The study participants were divided into 2 groups. Group I included infants who survived for less than 1 day, and Group II included infants who survived for more than 1 day. Detailed information regarding infant and maternal characteristics, birth certificates, prenatal care, antenatal conditions, death records, and all maternal and infant record from a year before to a year after birth was derived from the database of the hospital. Results show that infants born at 22-24 weeks had neonatal morbidities, including retinopathy of prematurity, sepsis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis, periventricular leukomalacia or grade III or IV IVH (Table I). 9% (818 infants) of survivors had grade III or IV intraventricular hemorrhage, and 3% (273 infants) had PVL, infants born at 22nd to 23rd weeks were at higher risk of developing these complications. Almost 80% of infants born at 22-25 weeks gestation suffered from at least one major morbidity. The 1-year survival rate of infants born at 22, 23, and 24 weeks was 5.9%, 27%, and 59.9%, respectively. It is concluded that less than half of the infants born at the lowest gestational ages (22 and 23 weeks) survive after resuscitation, and two-thirds have more than 1 major morbidity.