scholarly journals Burden of Neonatal Surgical Conditions in Northern Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alhassan Abdul-Mumin ◽  
Theophilus T. K. Anyomih ◽  
Sheila A. Owusu ◽  
Naomi Wright ◽  
Janae Decker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Imperforate Anus ◽  
Congenital Anomalies ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Digestive System ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Surgical Conditions

Abstract Background Congenital anomalies have risen to become the fifth leading cause of under-five mortality globally. The majority of deaths and disability occur in low- and middle-income countries including Ghana. This 3-year retrospective review aimed to define, for the first time, the characteristics and outcomes of neonatal surgical conditions in northern Ghana. Methods A retrospective study was conducted to include all admissions to the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with surgical conditions between January 2014 and January 2017. Data were collected on demographics, diagnosis and outcomes. Descriptive analysis was performed on all data, and logistic regression was used to predict determinants of neonatal mortality. p < 0.05 was deemed significant. Results Three hundred and forty-seven neonates were included. Two hundred and sixty-one (75.2%) were aged 7 days or less at presentation, with males (n = 177, 52%) slightly higher than females (n = 165, 48%). The majority were delivered by spontaneous vaginal delivery (n = 247, 88%); 191 (58%) were born in hospital. Congenital anomalies accounted for 302 (87%) of the neonatal surgical cases and 45 (96%) deaths. The most common anomalies were omphalocele (n = 48, 13.8%), imperforate anus (n = 34, 9.8%), intestinal obstruction (n = 29, 8.4%), spina bifida (n = 26, 7.5%) and hydrocephalus (n = 19, 5.5%). The overall mortality rate was 13.5%. Two-thirds of the deaths (n = 30) from congenital anomalies were conditions involving the digestive system with gastroschisis having the highest mortality of 88%. Omphalocele (n = 11, 23.4%), gastroschisis (n = 7, 14.9%) and imperforate anus (n = 6, 12.8%) contributed to the most deaths. On multivariate analysis, low birthweight was significantly associated with mortality (OR 3.59, CI 1.4–9.5, p = 0.009). Conclusion Congenital anomalies are a major global health problem associated with high neonatal mortality in Ghana. The highest burden in terms of both caseload and mortality is attributed to congenital anomalies involving the digestive system, which should be targeted to improve outcomes.

scholarly journals Paediatric surgical conditions in Malawi - A cross-sectional nationwide household survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
Carlos Varela ◽  
Asgaut Viste ◽  
Sven Young ◽  
Reinou S. Groen ◽  
Leonard Banza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Congenital Anomalies ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Surgical Care ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Surgical Conditions ◽  
Surgical Condition

BackgroundUntreated surgical conditions may lead to lifelong disability in children. Treating children with surgical conditions may reduce long-term effects of morbidity and disability. Unfortunately, low- and middle-income countries have limited resources for paediatric surgical care. Malawi, for example, has very few paediatric surgeons. There are also significantly inadequate infrastructures and personnel to treat these children. In order to strengthen resources that could provide such services, we need to begin by quantifying the need.AimTo estimate the approximate prevalence of surgical conditions among children in Malawi, to describe the anatomical locations and diagnoses of the conditions and the presence of injuries.MethodsA cross-sectional, nationwide survey of surgical needs was performed in 28 of 29 districts of Malawi. Villages, households and household members were randomly selected. A total of 1487 households were visited and 2960 persons were interviewed. This paper is a sub analysis of the children in the dataset. Information was obtained from 255 living children and inquiry from household respondents for the 255 children who had died in the past year. The interviews were conducted by medical students over a 60-day period, and the validated SOSAS tool was used for data collection. ResultsThere were 67 out of 255 (26.3%) total children living with a surgical condition at the time of the study, with most of the conditions located in the extremities. Half of the children lived with problems due to injuries. Traffic accidents were the most common cause. Two-thirds of the children living with a surgical condition had some kind of disability, and one-third of them were grossly disabled. There were 255 total deceased children, with 34 who died from a surgical condition. The most prevalent causes of death were congenital anomalies of the abdomen, groin and genital region. ConclusionAn extrapolation of the 26% of children found to be living with a surgical condition indicates that there could be 2 million children living with a condition that needs surgical consultation or treatment in Malawi. Congenital anomalies cause significant numbers of deaths among Malawian children. Children living with surgical conditions had disorders in their extremities, causing severe disability. Many of these disorders could have been corrected by surgical care.

scholarly journals Maternal Iron-and-Folic-Acid Supplementation and its Association with Low-birthweight and Neonatal Mortality in India

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar Rai ◽  
Jan-Walter De Neve ◽  
Pascal Geldsetzer ◽  
Sebastian Vollmer
Keyword(s):  
Folic Acid ◽  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Neonatal Death ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Iron And Folic Acid

Abstract Objective: This study assessed intake of iron-and-folic-acid (IFA) tablet/syrup (grouped into none, <100 days of IFA consumption or <100 IFA, and ≥100 days of IFA consumption or ≥100 IFA) among prospective mothers and its association with various stages of low-birthweight (ELBW: extremely low-birthweight, VLBW: very low-birthweight, and LBW: low-birthweight) and neonatal mortality (death during day 0-1, 2-6, 7-27, and 0-27) in India. Design: The cross-sectional, nationally representative, 2015-2016 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) data were used. Weighted descriptive analysis, and multiple binary logistic regression modelling were used. Setting: NFHS-4 covered 640 districts from 37 states/ union territories of India. Participants: A total of 120,374 and 143,675 index children aged 0-59 months were included to analyse LBW and neonatal mortality, respectively. Results: Overall, 30.7% mothers consumed ≥100 IFA in 2015-2016, and this estimate ranged from 0.0% in Zunheboto district of Nagaland state to 89.5% in Mahe district of Puducherry of India. Multiple regression analysis revealed that children of mothers who consumed ≥100 IFA had lower odds of ELBW, VLBW, LBW, and neonatal mortality during day 0-1, as compared to mothers who did not buy/receive any IFA. Consumption of IFA (<100 IFA and ≥100 IFA) had protective association with neonatal death during day 7-27, and 0-27. Consumption of IFA was not associated with neonatal death during day 2-6. Conclusions: While ≥100 IFA consumption during pregnancy was found to be associated with preventing select types of LBW and neonatal mortality, a large variation in coverage of ≥100 IFA consumption across 640 districts is concerning.

scholarly journals Why are the Pakistani maternal, fetal and newborn outcomes so poor compared to other low and middle-income countries?

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (S3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleha Aziz ◽  
Sarah Saleem ◽  
Tracy L. Nolen ◽  
Nousheen Akber Pradhan ◽  
Elizabeth M. McClure ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Pregnancy Outcomes ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
The Other ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Live Births ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low Middle Income Countries

Abstract Background Pakistan has among the poorest pregnancy outcomes worldwide, significantly worse than many other low-resource countries. The reasons for these differences are not clear. In this study, we compared pregnancy outcomes in Pakistan to other low-resource countries and explored factors that might help explain these differences. Methods The Global Network (GN) Maternal Newborn Health Registry (MNHR) is a prospective, population-based observational study that includes all pregnant women and their pregnancy outcomes in defined geographic communities in six low-middle income countries (India, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Kenya, Zambia). Study staff enroll women in early pregnancy and follow-up soon after delivery and at 42 days to ascertain delivery, neonatal, and maternal outcomes. We analyzed the maternal mortality ratios (MMR), neonatal mortality rates (NMR), stillbirth rates, and potential explanatory factors from 2010 to 2018 across the GN sites. Results From 2010 to 2018, there were 91,076 births in Pakistan and 456,276 births in the other GN sites combined. The MMR in Pakistan was 319 per 100,000 live births compared to an average of 124 in the other sites, while the Pakistan NMR was 49.4 per 1,000 live births compared to 20.4 in the other sites. The stillbirth rate in Pakistan was 53.5 per 1000 births compared to 23.2 for the other sites. Preterm birth and low birthweight rates were also substantially higher than the other sites combined. Within weight ranges, the Pakistani site generally had significantly higher rates of stillbirth and neonatal mortality than the other sites combined, with differences increasing as birthweights increased. By nearly every measure, medical care for pregnant women and their newborns in the Pakistan sites was worse than at the other sites combined. Conclusion The Pakistani pregnancy outcomes are much worse than those in the other GN sites. Reasons for these poorer outcomes likely include that the Pakistani sites' reproductive-aged women are largely poorly educated, undernourished, anemic, and deliver a high percentage of preterm and low-birthweight babies in settings of often inadequate maternal and newborn care. By addressing the issues highlighted in this paper there appears to be substantial room for improvements in Pakistan’s pregnancy outcomes.

scholarly journals Elimination of Intravenous Di-2-Ethylhexyl Phthalate Exposure Abrogates Most Neonatal Hypertension in Premature Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Randall Jenkins ◽  
Katia Farnbach ◽  
Sandra Iragorri
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Neonatal Hypertension ◽  
Vlbw Infants ◽  
Chi Square Analysis ◽  
Ethylhexyl Phthalate ◽  
Current Report

(1) Background: The incidence of hypertension in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants in a single neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) dropped markedly during a 2-year period when the IV fluid (IVF) in both the antenatal unit and the NICU temporarily changed to a di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)-free formulation. The objective of the current report is to document this observation and demonstrate the changes in incidence of hypertension were not associated with the variation in risk factors for hypertension; (2) Methods: The charts of all VLBW infants born in a single NICU during a 7-year span were reviewed. This time includes 32 months of baseline, 20 months of DEHP-free IVF, 20 months of IVF DEHP re-exposure, and two 4-month washout intervals. The group of interest was limited to VLBW infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Chi-square analysis was used to compare incidence of hypertension among periods. Vermont Oxford NICU Registry data were examined for variation in maternal and neonatal risk factors for hypertension; Results: Incidence of hypertension in VLBW infants with BPD decreased from 7.7% (baseline) to 1.4% when IVF was DEHP-free, rising back to 10.1% when DEHP-containing IVF returned to use. Risk factors for neonatal hypertension were stable across the 3 study periods in the NICU’s group of VLBW infants; (3) Conclusions: Serendipitous removal of IVF containing DEHP resulted in near elimination of hypertension in one NICU—an effect entirely reversed after the same brand of DEHP-containing IVF returned to clinical use. These results suggest that DEHP exposure from IVF plays a major role in neonatal hypertension.

scholarly journals Unprecedented reduction in births of very low birthweight (VLBW) and extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants during the COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland: a ‘natural experiment’ allowing analysis of data from the prior two decades

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. e003075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy K Philip ◽  
Helen Purtill ◽  
Elizabeth Reidy ◽  
Mandy Daly ◽  
Mendinaro Imcha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Poisson Regression ◽  
Rate Ratio ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Very Low Birthweight ◽  
Live Births ◽  
Regional Trends ◽  
Extremely Low Birthweight ◽  
Health And Well Being

BackgroundAetiology of births involving very low birthweight (VLBW) and extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants is heterogeneous and preventive strategies remain elusive. Socioenvironmental measures implemented as Ireland’s response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) pandemic represented a national lockdown, and have possibly influenced the health and well-being of pregnant women and unborn infants.MethodsRegional trends of VLBW and ELBW infants in one designated health area of Ireland over two decades were analysed. Poisson regression and rate ratio analyses with 95% CI were conducted. Regional data covering most of the lockdown period of 2020 were compared with historical regional and national data and forecasted national figures for 2020.ResultsPoisson regression analysis found that the regional historical VLBW rate per 1000 live births for January to April, 2001–2019 was 8.18 (95% CI 7.21 to 9.29). During January to April 2020, an unusually low VLBW rate of just 2.17 per 1000 live births was observed, reflecting a rate ratio of 3.77 (95% CI 1.21 to 11.75), p=0.022, representing a 73% reduction of VLBW during the first 4 months of 2020 compared with same period for the preceding two decades. There were no ELBW infants admitted to the regional neonatal intensive care unit. National Irish VLBW rate for 2020 is forecasted to be reduced to approximate 400 per 60 000 births compared with the historical 500–600 range.ConclusionAn unprecedented reduction in regional births of VLBW and ELBW infants was observed in Ireland coinciding with the COVID-19 lockdown. Potential determinants of this unique temporal trend possibly reside in the summative socioenvironmental impact of the COVID-19 lockdown. Our findings, if mirrored in other regions that have adopted a lockdown, demonstrate the potential to evaluate these implicated behavioural and socioenvironmental modifiers to positively influence VLBW and ELBW rates globally.

Contribution of Congenital Anomalies to Neonatal Mortality Rates in Malta

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 401-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Gatt ◽  
Kathleen England ◽  
Victor Grech ◽  
Neville Calleja
Keyword(s):  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Congenital Anomalies ◽  
Mortality Rates
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