Study of Referral Process of Neonates Admitted to Sick Newborn Care Units of Lucknow District

Abstract

Background: Nearly 98% of total deaths in neonatal period occur in developing countries all over the world and are mainly caused by infection, asphyxia, LBW and prematuriy. Of all the neonatal deaths happening globally, nearly 30% occur in India. As per global reviews, nearly 15% newborns require facility based care, 10% newborns require SNCU treatment. Objectives: 1) To study the referral process of neonates admitted in Sick Newborn Care Units of Lucknow District. 2) To suggest measures (if, any) to improve the services provided for management of neonates in Sick Newborn Care Units. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 360 neonates managed in Sick Newborn Care Units of district Lucknow. Out of 5 government SNCUs in Lucknow, 3 were randomly chosen. The schedule was pretested on 10 percent of the total sample of neonates admitted to SNCU. Results: Maximum (74.8%) referrals came from the health facility, 25.2 percent referrals were from the community. In majority (68.3%) of the referred neonates, symptoms appeared within 24 hours of birth. In majority (52.8%) of the cases, symptoms were first seen by doctor at health facility, only in 0.8 percent cases, symptoms were seen by ASHA. Most frequent (27.6%) symptom observed in referred neonate was difficulty breathing.