Table 2.
Mortality rates of overall admissions to neonatal intensive care units.
| Author | Country | Year(s) | Methods | Age of Infants | Mortality Outcome | Reasons for Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feng et al. (20) | Australia | 1995–2006 | Data for 24,131 infants admitted to 10 NICUs | GA of <24 weeks (n = 145) GA of ≥37 weeks (n = 6,239) Median age at death: 4 days |
Overall mortality rate: 9.2% (2,224/24,131) Mortality rate between 1995 and 2000: 10.3% (1,152/11,185) Mortality rate between 2001 and 2006: 8.3% (1,072/12,946) |
Overall leading causes of death: congenital abnormalities (n = >445, >20%), respiratory failure (n ≈ 400, ~18%), HIE (n ≈ 222, ~10%), infection (n ≈ 222, ~10%) Most common causes of death in term infants: congenital abnormalities (40%), HIE (28%) Most common causes of death in preterm infants: respiratory failure (20%) 1995–2000: congenital problems (n = 252, 21.9%), respiratory failure (n = 217, 18.8%), infection (n = 136, 11.8%), HIE (n = 128, 11.1%), IVH (n = 80, 6.9%), cardiovascular failure (n = 56, 4.9%), NEC (n = 47, 4.1%), chronic lung disease (n = 25, 2.2%), renal failure (n = 19, 1.6%), SIDS (n = 13, 1.1%), hematological disorders (n = 8, 0.7%), neoplasm (n = 6, 0.5%), trauma (n = 4, 0.3%), maternal conditions (n = 3, 0.3%) 2001–2006: congenital problems (n = 226, 21.1%), respiratory failure (n = 188, 17.5%), HIE (n = 129, 12.0%), infection (n = 116, 10.8%), IVH (n = 112, 10.4%), extreme prematurity (n = 76, 7.1%), NEC (n = 58, 5.4%), cardiovascular failure (n = 36, 3.4%), chronic lung disease (n = 21, 2.0%), renal failure (n = 20, 1.9%), SIDS (n = 14, 1.3%), neoplasm (n = 8, 0.7%), maternal conditions (n = 6, 0.6%), trauma (n = 5, 0.5%), hematological disorders (n = 4, 0.4%) |
| Sankaran et al. (22) | Canada | January 8, 1996–October 31, 1997 | Data for 19,265 infants admitted to 17 tertiary-level NICUs | Age at death: 2 (n = 318, 40%), 3 (n = 397, 50%), 12 (n = 596, 75%) days since NICU admission; 1 month after admission (n = 79, 10%) | Overall mortality rate: 4% (795/19,265) Mortality rate for infants with birth weight <500 g: 51% Mortality rate for infants with birth weight ≤1,500 g: 2% |
Outborn status (n = 334, 42%), GA of <24 weeks (n = 310, 39%), chromosomal or congenital anomalies (n = 270, 34%), HIE (n = 127, 16%), infection (n = 111, 14%), GA of 24–28 weeks (n = 103, 13%), small for GA (n = 79, 10%) |
| Manktelow et al. (25) | England | 2008–2010 | Data for 2,995 white singleton infants admitted to NICUs in the East Midlands and Yorkshire regions of England | GA of 23 (n = 18)–32 weeks (n = 1,329) | 8.1% (244/2,995) | Not listed |
| Ekwochi et al. (33) | Nigeria | June 2012–May 2013 | Data for 261 infants admitted to a special care baby unit | Mean age at death: 4.44 days | 14.2% (37/261) | Severe form of perinatal asphyxia (n = 3, 8%), neonatal sepsis (n = 1, 4%) |
| Costa et al. (34) | Portugal | 2004–2008 | Data for 1,938 infants admitted to a NICU | Median GA: 34 weeks Median age at death: 10.5 days (range: 0–317 days) |
5.7% (110/1,938) | Congenital malformations, including cardiac anomalies (n = 55, 50%), prematurity with its complications (n = 37, 33.6%), infection (n = 5, 4.5%), and HIE (n = 3, 2.7%) |
| Parappil et al. (35) | Qatar | 2002–2006 | Data for 597 infants admitted to a tertiary-level NICU | GA of 28–32 weeks | Total mortality rate: 6.5% (39/597) Mortality rate for 29 weeks GA: 14.5% (nine deaths) Mortality rate for 30 weeks GA: 12.9% (15 deaths) Mortality rate for 31 weeks GA: 3.9% (six deaths) Mortality rate for 32 weeks GA: 3.4% (nine deaths) Early mortality rate (<7 days): 35.89% of total mortality (14/39) Late mortality rate (>7 days): 64.11% of total mortality (25/39) |
Lethal congenital and chromosomal anomalies (n = 12, 30.77%), sepsis (n = 11, 28.20%), severe birth asphyxia (n = 6, 15.30%), NEC (n = 4, 10.25%), pulmonary hemorrhage (n = 3, 7.69%), hydrops/congenital infection (n = 3, 7.69%) |
| Pepler et al. (36) | South Africa | 2007–2008 | Data for 1,578 infants born in 2007 and 2,376 infants born in 2008 admitted to 15 NICUs in private hospitals | Median GA in 2008: 35.9 weeks (range: 23–42.3 weeks) | 2007: 3.1% (49/1,578) 2008: 3.8% (91/2,376) |
Not listed |
| Musooko et al. (37) | Uganda | February 1–March 31, 2013 | Data for 635 infants, including 341 infants with severe perinatal morbidity, admitted to a NICU | GA of ≥28 weeks Average GA for the 341 infants: 36.0 ± 1.3 weeks Age at death: 17 (45.9%) of the 37 early neonatal deaths occurred on the first day of life, 7 (18.9%) on the second day, 4 (10.8%) on the third day, and 9 (24.3%) between the fourth and seventh days |
Overall mortality rate for all NICU patients in 2012: 26–29% Early neonatal death rate (death within 7 days of birth) of the 635 admissions: 12.4% (79/635) Early neonatal death rate of the 341 infants: 10.9% (37/341) |
Not listed |
g, grams; GA, gestational age; HIE, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; IVH, intraventricular hemorrhage; n, number; NEC, necrotizing enterocolitis; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome.