Diagnosis and Outcome of Birth Asphyxia in Resource Constrained Health Care Set Up

Abstract

Objective: To determine morbidity and mortality of neonates with low APGAR score in a resource constrained health care set up. Study Design: Prospective descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in combined military hospital Attock, from Jan 2013 to Jan 2015. Material and Methods: All term neonates with 37 completed weeks of gestation and APGAR score less than 7 were included in the study. APGAR score was calculated by an attending pediatrician, gynecologist or trained female nurse at 0 and 5 minutes. In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit [NICU] the babies were daily examined by pediatrician. Outcome was documented in term of morbidity i.e. fits and mortality i.e. death of babies. Results: Total number of neonates included in the study were 85 of which 55 (65%) were males and 30 (35%) were females. Of the total neonates 65 (76%) were discharged in satisfactory conditions and 20 (24%) expired during stay in the hospital. The mean APGAR score of newborns was 4.98 ± 0.98 at 5 minutes. During stay in hospital 46 (54%) were diagnosed to have hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy 2 (HIE2), those diagnosed with HIE3 were 5 (6%) and the rest 14 (16%) with HIE1. Conclusion: Low APGAR score is an important cause of admission to NICU. Low APGAR score was found associated with increased risk of fits in neonates and one of the most important cause of mortality in our set up.