Survival and morbidity among two cohorts of extremely low birth weight neonates from a tertiary hospital in Northern India

This study was conducted to compare the survival and morbidity of extremely low birth weight neonates born during two different time periods (2009–10 and 2001–02) at a Level III referral neonatal unit in Northern India. All consecutive intramural extremely low birth weight neonates (<1000g), irrespective of gestation, and admitted to Intensive Care were enrolled. 149 and 123 neonates were enrolled during 2009-10 and 2001-02, respectively. The baseline characteristics were comparable except for mean birth weight, which was lower during 2009-10 (843±108g vs 885±126g, P=0.003). Surfactant therapy (54% vs 18%, P<0.001), non-invasive ventilation (28% vs 6%, P<0.001), high frequency ventilation (24% vs 4%, P=0.001), IVH (52% vs 25%, P<0.001) and PDA (34% vs 18%, P=0.004) were significantly more during 2009–10. Culture positive sepsis (33% vs 51%, P=0.003) and ROP rates (7% vs 23%, P=0.042) were significantly higher during 2001–02. Overall survival was similar; however, neonates between 28–30 weeks gestation had better survival (63%) during 2009–10 compared to 2001–02 (38%), P=0.009. Survival in neonates 28–30 weeks improved during this period while overall survival remained the same.