Survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in Chiradzulu, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study

In Malawi, there are limited studies that have studied the survival of low birth weight (LBW) babies in public hospitals and no studies have studied or compared with the survival of LBW babies in private hospitals. Understanding LBW survival and factors associated with mortality would facilitate...

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Main Author: Zgambo, Austin Chibisa
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Kamuzu University of Health Sciences 2022
Online Access:http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw/handle/20.500.12845/637
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author Zgambo, Austin Chibisa
author_facet Zgambo, Austin Chibisa
author_sort Zgambo, Austin Chibisa
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description In Malawi, there are limited studies that have studied the survival of low birth weight (LBW) babies in public hospitals and no studies have studied or compared with the survival of LBW babies in private hospitals. Understanding LBW survival and factors associated with mortality would facilitate the identification of better strategies to improve their management at health facility level. The objective of the study was to compare the survival rate of LBW babies admitted to public versus private hospital in Chiradzulu district, Malawi; and identify maternal and newborn factors associated with mortality in the two hospitals. A retrospective cohort study of LBW babies admitted to Chiradzulu District Hospital (CZDH) and St. Joseph’s Private Mission Hospital (SJPMH) from 2018 to 2019. Data were collected using a data extraction checklist from the nursery ward admission registers. Kaplan Meier curves were used to estimate the survival rate. A Cox proportional hazard model was fitted to identify factors associated with mortality in LBW babies. Records for 1,343 LBW babies (698 from CZDH and 645 from SJPMH) were available for analysis. The overall survival was 87% and it was higher at SJPMH compared to CZDH (96% versus 79%; p<.001). Delivery through vacuum extraction (VE) (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 11.18; 95% CI: 1.37–95.98), diagnoses of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (AHR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.05–4.27) and asphyxia (AHR: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.44–4.01) increased the risk of mortality. Admission weight of the baby ranging from 1,500 to 2,499 g (AHR: 0.18; 95% CI: 0.08–0.38), and Apgar score 7 – 10 at 5 minutes (AHR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.27–0.86) were the protective factors against mortality. Interventions to improve survival among the LBW babies should focus on managing deliveries through VE, babies diagnosed with RDS and asphyxia.
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spelling oai:nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:20.500.12845-6372023-03-11T23:59:23Z Survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in Chiradzulu, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study Zgambo, Austin Chibisa In Malawi, there are limited studies that have studied the survival of low birth weight (LBW) babies in public hospitals and no studies have studied or compared with the survival of LBW babies in private hospitals. Understanding LBW survival and factors associated with mortality would facilitate the identification of better strategies to improve their management at health facility level. The objective of the study was to compare the survival rate of LBW babies admitted to public versus private hospital in Chiradzulu district, Malawi; and identify maternal and newborn factors associated with mortality in the two hospitals. A retrospective cohort study of LBW babies admitted to Chiradzulu District Hospital (CZDH) and St. Joseph’s Private Mission Hospital (SJPMH) from 2018 to 2019. Data were collected using a data extraction checklist from the nursery ward admission registers. Kaplan Meier curves were used to estimate the survival rate. A Cox proportional hazard model was fitted to identify factors associated with mortality in LBW babies. Records for 1,343 LBW babies (698 from CZDH and 645 from SJPMH) were available for analysis. The overall survival was 87% and it was higher at SJPMH compared to CZDH (96% versus 79%; p<.001). Delivery through vacuum extraction (VE) (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 11.18; 95% CI: 1.37–95.98), diagnoses of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (AHR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.05–4.27) and asphyxia (AHR: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.44–4.01) increased the risk of mortality. Admission weight of the baby ranging from 1,500 to 2,499 g (AHR: 0.18; 95% CI: 0.08–0.38), and Apgar score 7 – 10 at 5 minutes (AHR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.27–0.86) were the protective factors against mortality. Interventions to improve survival among the LBW babies should focus on managing deliveries through VE, babies diagnosed with RDS and asphyxia. Africa Center of Excellence in Public Health and Herbal Medicine 2022-05-13T15:50:20Z 2022-05-13T15:50:20Z 2021-02-01 Thesis http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw/handle/20.500.12845/637 en application/pdf Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
spellingShingle Zgambo, Austin Chibisa
Survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in Chiradzulu, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study
title Survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in Chiradzulu, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study
title_full Survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in Chiradzulu, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study
title_fullStr Survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in Chiradzulu, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study
title_full_unstemmed Survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in Chiradzulu, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study
title_short Survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in Chiradzulu, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study
title_sort survival of low birth weight babies admitted at district and private hospitals in chiradzulu, malawi: a retrospective cohort study
url http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw/handle/20.500.12845/637
work_keys_str_mv AT zgamboaustinchibisa survivaloflowbirthweightbabiesadmittedatdistrictandprivatehospitalsinchiradzulumalawiaretrospectivecohortstudy