RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Epidemiological aspects of prematurity in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia
JF Saudi Medical Journal
JO Saudi Med J
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 414
OP 419
DO 10.15537/smj.2016.4.14309
VO 37
IS 4
A1 Al-Qurashi, Faisal O.
A1 Yousef, Abdullah A.
A1 Awary, Bassam H.
YR 2016
UL http://smj.org.sa/content/37/4/414.abstract
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.