Affiliation:
1. DOKUZ EYLÜL ÜNİVERSİTESİ, TIP FAKÜLTESİ
Abstract
Introduction and methods:
Thanks to developments in perinatal and neonatal care, the survival rate of premature babies has increased. Depending on the development level of countries and units, some of the morbidity rates may increase, while others may decrease. In this retrospective cross-sectional study; the morbidity and mortality results of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants were evaluated by comparing the results of the infants in our previous study and the data of developed countries.
Results:
203 infants were included in the last group. The mean birth weight of these babies was 976±308 g and the mean gestational age was 27.8±2.5 weeks. The rate of babies with a gestational age of 28 weeks and above were significantly lower than the first group containing 173 infants. Regarding major morbidities, the rates of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (moderate to severe) and necrotizing enterocolitis (>stage 2) were significantly higher in the last group; while the rates of retinopathy of prematurity (>grade 2), intraventricular hemorrhage (>grade 2) and periventricular leukomalacia were also similar among the two groups. While survival rates were found to be similar, the survival rate without major morbidity was significantly lower in the last group.
Conclusion:
While the survival rates remained unchanged despite the observation of smaller babies in terms of birth weight and gestational age in the last period when mortality and morbidity data were compared with developed countries, the study demonstrated a need for improvement in mortality rates especially in small gestational weeks, while major morbidity rates were generally encouraging.
Publisher
Dokuz Eylul Universitesi Tip Fakultesi Dergisi
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