Mortality and morbidity among preterm neonates in neonatal intensive care unit

The aim of the study was to determine the mortality and morbidity among preterm neonates admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a tertiary care hospital of Udupi District, Karnataka, South India. Material and methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among preterm neonates born with gestational age less than 37 weeks. A total of 1194 preterm neonates admitted to NICU in the year 2014-2015 were included in the study. Result: Among 1194 preterm neonates, 54.3% were boys. Maximum of the preterm neonates (51.3%) were within the gestational age of 30-34 weeks. There were 10.4% of preterm neonates whose birth weight was less than 1000 gms. The survival rate of preterm neonates was 92.5%. Respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, hyperbilirubinemia and perinatal asphyxia were the major morbidities among the preterms admitted. Conclusion: Preterm births are one of the conditions that require maximum attention and care.