Neonatal mortality in a public referral hospital in southern Haiti: a retrospective cohort study

Background: Haiti has the highest rate of neonatal mortality in the Latin America and Caribbean region. While the rate of facility births in Haiti has doubled over the past two decades, there have been no comparable reductions in maternal or neonatal mortality. Little data is available on the clinical characteristics of complications and morbidities among newborns requiring hospitalization after birth and their contribution to neonatal mortality. There is a need to better understand the status of newborn clinical care capacity in Haiti to prioritize training and resources. Methods: We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of neonates admitted to a large public referral hospital in southern Haiti in the first 2 years of operation of a new neonatal unit that we established. All neonate cases hospitalized in the unit in these 2 years were reviewed and analyzed to identify their clinical characteristics and outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors of hospital mortality. We present the outcomes for 1399 neonates admitted to the unit during August 2017 and August 2019. Results: The leading cause of death was prematurity, followed by hypoxia and infection. Inborn neonates had better rates of hospital survival than those born elsewhere; they were also more likely to be born via cesarean section and to be admitted immediately following birth. There were no differences between the proportion of premature or low-birth-weight babies born at the hospital or elsewhere. Mortality in the second year of the unit's operation was 12%, almost half that of the first year (21%). Multivariable regression analysis showed that mortality was consistently higher among premature and very low birthweight babies. Conclusions: With modest investments, we were able to halve the mortality on a neonatal unit in Haiti. Resources are needed to address prematurity as an important outcome since hospital mortality was significant in this group. To this end, investment in uninterrupted supplies of oxygen and antibiotics, as well as ensuring adequate newborn resuscitation, infection control, laboratory testing, and timely morbidity and mortality reviews would go a long way toward lowering hospital mortality in Haiti.