Low Neonatal Mortality and High Incidence of Infectious Diseases in a Vietnamese Province Hospital

Background. Neonatal deaths constitute the majority of child mortality in Vietnam, but studies are scarce and focus on community settings. Methods. During a 12-month period, all sick neonates admitted to a pediatric department in a province hospital were studied. Potential risk factors of death covering sociodemographic factors, pregnancy history, previous neonatal period, and status on admission were registered. The neonates were followed up until discharge or death or until 28 completed days of age if still hospitalized or until withdrawal of life support. The main outcome was neonatal death. Results. The neonatal mortality was 4.6% (50/1094). In a multivariate analysis, four associated risk factors of death were extremely low birth weight (OR = 22.9 (2.3-233.4)), no cry at birth (OR = 3.5 (1.3-9.4)), and cyanosis (OR = 3.3 (1.2-8.7)) and shock (OR = 12.3 (2.5-61.5)) on admission. The major discharge diagnoses were infection, prematurity, congenital malformations, and asphyxia in 88.5% (936/1058), 21.3% (225/1058), 5.0% (53/1058), and 4.6% (49/1058), respectively. In 36, a discharge diagnosis was not registered. Conclusion. Infection was the main cause of neonatal morbidity. Asphyxia and congenital malformations were diagnosed less frequently. The neonatal mortality was 4.6%. No sociodemographic factors were associated with death. Extreme low birth weight, no cry at birth, and cyanosis or shock at admission were associated with death.