Journal Article

“Assessing Today for a Better Tomorrow”: An observational cohort study about quality of care, mortality and morbidity among newborn infants admitted to neonatal intensive care in Guinea

Diallo, Ibrahima Sory, Roth-Kleiner, Matthias, von Felten, Stefanie, Diallo, Boubacar, Delamou, Albert, Conté, N’Fanly, John, Oliver, Merscher Alves, Maria Bea, Mamadou, Moustapha

2021

Overview

Neonatal mortality in Guinea accounts for about 30% of all fatalities in children younger than five years. Countrywide, specialized neonatal intensive care is provided in one single clinic with markedly limited resources. To implement targeted measures, prospective data on patient characteristics and factors of neonatal death are needed. To determine the rates of morbidity and mortality, to describe clinical characteristics of admitted newborns requiring intensive care, to assess the quality of disease management, and to identify factors contributing to neonatal mortality. Half of the 168 admitted newborns underwent postnatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Reasons for admission included respiratory distress (49.4%), poor postnatal adaptation (45.8%), prematurity (46.2%), and infections (37.1%). 101 newborns (61.2%) arrived in serious/critical general condition; 90 children (53.9%) showed clinical signs of neurological damage. Quality of care was poor: Only 59.4% of the 64 newborns admitted with hypothermia were externally heated; likewise, 57.1% of 45 jaundiced infants did not receive phototherapy. Death occurred in 56 children (33.3%) due to birth asphyxia (42.9%), prematurity (33.9%), and sepsis (12.5%). Newborns in serious/critical general condition at admission had about a fivefold higher hazard to die than those admitted in good condition (HR 5.21 95%-CI 2.42-11.25, p = <0.0001). Hypothermia at admission was also associated with a higher hazard of death (HR 2.00, 95%-CI 1.10-3.65, p = 0.023). Neonatal mortality was strikingly high. Birth asphyxia, prematurity, and infection accounted for 89.3% of death, aggravated by poor quality of in-hospital care. Children with serious general condition at admission had poor chances of survival. The whole concept of perinatal care in Guinea requires reconsideration.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Antibiotics / Asphyxia / Biology and Life Sciences / Births / Children / Children & youth / Childrens health / Cohort analysis / Death / Evaluation / Fatalities / Hazard assessment / Health aspects / Health care / Health hazards / Hospitals / Hypothermia / Infant mortality / Infants / Infants (Newborn) / Infections / Intensive care / Medical care / Medicine and Health Sciences / Morbidity / Mortality / Neonatal care / Neonatal intensive care / Neonates / Newborn babies / Nutrition / Observational studies / Obstetrics / Patient outcomes / Patients / People and Places / Phototherapy / Poverty / Quality assessment / Quality management / Quality of care / Resuscitation / Sepsis