Neonatal sepsis and associated factors among newborns in hospitals of Wolaita Sodo Town, Southern Ethiopia

Introduction: Neonatal sepsis is one of the most common reasons for admission to neonatal intensive care units in developing countries. It is also a major cause of mortality in both developed and developing countries. Hence, the main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with neonatal sepsis among newborns in hospitals of Wolaita Sodo Town, Southern Ethiopia. Materials and methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 275 newborns from April 22 to June 29, 2018. Structured interviewer-administered pre-tested questionnaire and check list were used to collect the data. The collected data were entered into Epi data version 3.1 and then exported into SPSS Windows version 22 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were done by using binary logistic regression. The goodness of fit was tested by Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic and Omnibus tests. Multi-co-linearity test was carried out to determine the correlation between independent variables by using standard error and collinearity statistics. Variables with P<0.25 in the bivariate analysis were included in the final model, and statistical significance was declared at P<0.05. Results: This study found that 33.8% (95% CI: 28% 39%) of the neonates had neonatal sepsis during admission. Factors such as maternal age, multiple per digital vaginal examination, exclusive and immediate breastfeeding within an hour, put on kangaroo mother care (KMC) within 1 hour, and neonatal age were statistically significantly associated with neonatal sepsis. Conclusion and recommendations: This study indicated that the current rate of neonatal sepsis was still high. As such, strengthening the provision of health information on exclusive and immediate breastfeeding and KMC on postnatal and antenatal care services and decrease multiple per digital vaginal examination as not indicated should better to be promoted.