PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Faisal O. Al-Qurashi
AU  - Abdullah A. Yousef
AU  - Bassam H. Awary
TI  - Epidemiological aspects of prematurity in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2016.4.14309
DP  - 2016 Apr 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 414--419
VI  - 37
IP  - 4
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/37/4/414.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/37/4/414.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2016 Apr 01; 37
AB  - Objectives: To assess the epidemiological characteristics of prematurity and survival rate in preterm infants diagnosed at a university hospital in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out of 476 preterm infants who were admitted with the diagnosis of prematurity to King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, between June 2008 and 2013. Demographics, birth weight, and neonatal survival rate were analyzed.Results: Four hundred and seventy-six preterm infants were admitted with a total prevalence of 7.5%. Descriptive analysis revealed 55% were males. Extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks’ gestation) comprised 9% and very preterm infants (28 to <32 weeks’ gestation) comprised 20%. Extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants (<1000 g) comprised 11%. One hundred and fifty-seven (32%) infants were small for gestational age. Out of the total number of ELBW infants, 58% of them were discharged. The overall mortality was 7.6%. The mortality rate of male infants was 53%. The survival to discharge according to gestational age ranged from 30-97.6%.Conclusion: The estimated prevalence of preterm births in a university hospital in eastern province of Saudi Arabia, is consistent with various studies from different parts of the world.