Survival of 798 Low Birth Weight Infants According to Birth Weight and Gestational Age

Background: Prematurity is the most common cause of neonatal death, resulting in approximately 80% of the deaths of infants without congenital abnormalities. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the survival of low birth weight infants and to investigate the effect of birth weight, gestational age, and Apgar score on mortality rate. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively studied the mortality and survival of 798 newborns with birth weight of u003c 2500 g during a 4-year period in the neonatal intensive care unit of a referral hospital in Qom, Iran. Results: The survival-to-discharge rate was 50% for infants weighing u003c 1000 g and 84.2% for those weighing 1000 – 1499 g. Survival rates at 26, 27, and 28 weeks’ gestation were 54.1%, 63.6%, and 70.2%, respectively. An Apgar score of more than 5 at the first minute and more than 7 at the fifth minute were associated with better survival after hospital discharge. Conclusions: Our study showed that even with modern perinatal technology and care, early deaths of extremely low birth weight infants are common in our hospitals.