Objective:

To describe the main causes of morbidity and mortality of extremely low birth weight (VLBW) newborns in a tertiary hospital care.

Material and methods:

Descriptive and retrospective study of newborns weighing ≤1,000 g, hospitalized in a NICU between 2010 and 2014. Data of the newborns and their complications during hospital stay, as well as the causes of death were recorded.

Results:

During the study period, there were 52 VLBW newborns; the majority had weight between 750 g and 1,000 g and > 27 weeks of gestation. The most common diseases (morbidity) were: respiratory distress syndrome (84.6%), early sepsis (78.8%) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (59.6%). Mortality occurred in 20 newborns (38.5%); the main causes of death were pulmonary hemorrhage, intraventricular hemorrhage and septic shock.

Conclusions:

In this study, mortality rate in VLBW newborns is higher than in developed countries, but the causes of death are similar. The analysis of neonatal morbidity and mortality provides information of changes in childcare.

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