A Ten-Year Review of Neonatal Deaths in the Special Care Baby Unit at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Abstract

Background: Neonatal mortality is a pointer to the effectiveness of the obstetric and neonatal services in any particular community and a regular auditing should help in improving the delivery of such services.

Objective: This study was carried out in order to obtain an update on the pattern of mortality among newborn babies admitted to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, over a ten-year period.

Methods: The case records of all neonates admitted to the SCBU from January 1991 to December 2000 were examined for the total number of admissions and all deaths that occurred in the unit. The data extracted included age at admission (hours), the gender, gestational age (weeks), birth weight (kg), mode of delivery, indication for admission, temperature on admission, cause of death and the age at death (days).

Results: The yearly mortality rate ranged between 24.6 percent and 39.2 percent with a mean annual rate of 30.8 percent. The leading causes of death were low birth weight, birth asphyxia and sepsis. A higher rate of mortality occurred among babies with admission temperatures of less than 35.5°C than in those whose temperatures were above 35.5°C (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The study highlights the persistently high mortality in the neonatal unit and underscores the necessity for intensifying preventive strategies aimed especially at the leading causes. Additionally, in the prevailing circumstances of poor funding of the health care sector, low cost technologies are advocated in order to stem this high trend in mortality.