Respiratory Distress and Its Outcome among Neonates Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Assiut University Children Hospital, Egypt

Objective: To identify proportion and etiology of respiratory distress (RD), its mortalities and
associated risk factors among neonates admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of
Assiut University Children Hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was carried
out. All RD neonates admitted to NICU of Assiut University Children Hospital during the
study period were included. Results: Respiratory distress neonates constituted 52.9% of total
admission. Hyaline membrane disease represented 45.8% of RD cases. The majority of
hyaline membrane disease cases (RDS) were preterm and low birth weight (96.2% & 93.7%
% respectively). The majority of hyaline membrane diseased neonates who were treated by
surfactant or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) recovered (75.8%& 66.7%
respectively) with significant statistically difference. The most fatal of respiratory distress
diseases were persistent pulmonary hypertension (91.2%). Significant independent factors
associated with neonatal mortalities due to respiratory distress were residence, causes of RD,
birth weight and place of delivery. Conclusion: Hyaline membrane disease, pneumonia,
transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN), meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) were
important causes of neonatal respiratory distress. Residence, causes of RD, birth weight and
place of delivery were significantly associated with respiratory distress mortalities.
Recommendation: Development of strategies aiming to reduction of RD among neonates is
highly recommended. Moreover, surveillance programs for neonatal mortality should be
coupled with preventive measures and interventions for better natal care and postnatal
outcome.
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