Short-Term Outcomes of Extremely Low Birth Weight Neonates at a Tertiary Hospital in Johannesburg

Abstract

Introduction The Sustainable Development Goals seek to decrease the under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) to a maximum of 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030. In South Africa, the Under-5 Mortality Rate experienced a significant fall from 2002 to 2015, peaking at 80 per 1,000 during the AIDS epidemic from 2003 to 2005, decreasing to 41 per 1,000 in 2012, and subsequently declining gradually to 37 per 1,000 live births by 2015.The newborn mortality rate has persistently persisted between 11 to 12 per 1,000 live births from 2012 to 2022. The neonatal mortality rate constitutes one-third of the under-five mortality rate; South Africa must enhance its neonatal mortality rate to attain the Sustainable Development Goals. Enhancing the care of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants will facilitate this objective. Objectives To describe short-term outcomes of ELBW neonates at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) from 2015 to 2018. Methods This was secondary analysis reviewing available records of ELBW neonates admitted to CMJAH within 48 hours of birth during the study period. Results There were 607 ELBW neonates admitted to CMJAH during the study period of which 466 met the inclusion criteria. The survival rate was 41.6%. Conclusion This study showed a lower survival rate than one study done at the same hospital in 2013, despite having introduced mechanical ventilation for ELBW neonates from 800 grams and exogenous surfactant and non-invasive ventilation to ELBW neonates from 500 grams onwards in 2015.