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. 2022 Mar 24;17(3):e0264926.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264926. eCollection 2022.

Overnight admissions to a neonatal intensive care unit in Ethiopia are not associated with increased mortality

Rishi P Mediratta  1 , Mallika Rajamani  2 , Mulugeta Ayalew  3 , Abdulkadir Shehibo  3 , Ashenafi Tazebew  3 , Alemayehu Teklu  3
Affiliations

Overnight admissions to a neonatal intensive care unit in Ethiopia are not associated with increased mortality

Rishi P Mediratta et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: In 2019, 2.4 million neonates died globally, with most deaths occurring in low-resource settings. Despite the introduction of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in these settings, neonatal mortality remains high, and caring for sick neonates around the clock can be challenging due to limited staff and resources.

Objective: To evaluate whether neonatal intensive care admissions during daytime and overnight hours affects in-hospital neonatal mortality.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted using 2016 chart data at a University hospital in Ethiopia. Cases were defined as neonates who died in the NICU, and controls were defined as neonates who survived. Overnight hours were defined as 17:00 to 07:59, and day hours were defined as 08:00 to 16:59. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to investigate the relationship between time of admission and mortality, along with perinatal characteristics.

Results: A total of 812 neonates, 207 cases and 605 controls, met inclusion criteria. There were 342 admissions during the day and 470 overnight. Neonatal mortality (aOR 1.02, 95% CI [0.64-1.62], p = 0.93) was not associated with overnight admissions after controlling for maternal age, parity, C-section, birthweight, and gestational age, respiratory distress, and admission level of consciousness. Admission heart rate >160 (aOR 0.52, 95% CI [0.30-0.91], p = 0.02) was the only variable significantly associated with overnight admissions.

Conclusion: Being admitted overnight to the NICU in Gondar, Ethiopia was not associated with increased mortality, consistent with a constant level of care, regardless of the time of admission. Further qualitative and implementation research are needed to understand contextual factors that have affected these data.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Kaplan-Meier survival curve comparing daytime and overnight NICU admissions.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Overall admissions and neonatal deaths by time of NICU admission.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Kaplan-Meier survival curve comparing low and high neonatal mortality scores.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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