TITLE:
Respiratory Distress in Full and Post Term Neonates: Prevalence, Etiologies and Outcomes in a Tertiary Health Center in Yaoundé
AUTHORS:
Didi Stanine Mefo Kue, Jeannette Epee Ngoue, Annie Carole Nga Motaze, Aude Sabine Nanfack, Anne Esther Njom-Nlend
KEYWORDS:
Neonatal Infection, Respiratory Distress, Term Neonates, Transient Tachypnea, Respiratory Distress, Yaoundé
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.11 No.3,
July
26,
2021
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Respiratory pathologies are top listed amongst neonatal morbidities. Our objective was to
describe the clinical features, causes and treatment of respiratory distress
(RD) in full and post term neonates in a tertiary health center in Yaoundé, the
Essos Hospital Centre (EHC). Patients and Method: This was a
retrospective study. Full/post term neonates with RD from January 2017-December
2018 were included. Main
parameters: incidence of RD, etiologies, risk factors for severity and
mortality. Results: We included 186 neonates among 2312 newborn babies.
The RD prevalence rate was 8%. Sex ratio of 2.15 was favoring male, median
gestational age of 38 weeks. Clinical signs of RD were dominated by a Silverman
score above 4/10 in 64%. Main
etiologies were pneumonia (44%), followed by transient tachypnea (35.4). Perinatal asphyxia (OR = 9.412, P = 0.005)
and cyanosis (OR = 6.509; P 0.001) were worsening RD, while caesarian section was protective (OR = 0.412; P = 0.050). Mortality rate (MR) was
10.4%. Therapeutic
measures briefly
consisted in oxygen therapy for 98.9% of patients and probabilistic antibiotic
therapy. Conclusion: Neonatal pneumonia was the preeminent etiology of
RD in this population; the MR was high.