A Comparison of Morbidity and Mortality Among Early, Moderate and Extreme Premature Infants Reporting in Gilgit

Objective: To compare the morbidity and mortality among early, moderate and extreme premature infants reporting in Gilgit. Study Design: Comparative cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Neonatal intensive care unit, Combined Military Hospital, Gilgit, from Jun 2017 to Jun 2018. Methodology: Patients who had completed antenatal visits in Gynae dept and delivered premature babies were recruited in this study. Premature babies from 34 to 37 weeks of gestation are termed as late preterm, 32 to <34 weeks as moderate preterm, with 28 to <32 weeks as very preterm and extreme premature if they are <28 weeks of gestation. The variables which were included in our study were antenatal checkups, period of gestation, weight of baby, period of hospital stay, mode of delivery of oxygen and outcome in terms of being discharged or expired. Results: Number of patients was 101 in this study. Males were 59 (58.4%) and females were 42 (41.6%). Mean weight of study population was 1.81 ± 1.67 kg. Oxygen was given via nasal prongs to 63 (62.4%) patients, via continuous positive airway pressure to 15 (14.9%) patients, via head box to 18 (17.8%) patients and via mechanical ventilation to 5 (5%) patients. 83 (82.2%) babies survived and discharged and 18 (17.8%) expired during hospital stay. Conclusion: Our study concluded that lesser the gestational age, greater is the morbidity and mortality of the preterm babies.