ABSTRACT
To assess the mortality and major morbidity rates of very low birth weight [VLBW] infants delivered at King Khalid University Hospital [KKUH] over a nine-year period. The secondary objective was to benchmark our data to the National Institute of Child and Health Development [NICHD] neonatal research network published figures. Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, KKUH, Riyadh, KSA All VLBW infants born alive at KKUH with birth weights less than 1500 g and gestational age of 32 weeks or less during the period from 1999 to 2007. Data were collected from NICU database and follow-up Clinic database and then analyzed by the use of Microsoft Excel program. Mortality and various morbidities in this group of infants were evaluated and results were compared with international figures. Mortality and major morbidity rates A total of 468 VLBW infants were included in this study. The infants had a mean gestational age of 27.5 weeks and a mean birth weight of 992 g. Mortality rate was 11.2% [survival rate of 88.8%]. Survival varies dramatically per gestational age. The commonest morbidity was respiratory distress syndrome [95.2%], followed by retinopathy of prematurity [34.5%], and bronchopulmonary dysplasia [BPD] [27.4%]. Early neonatal sepsis was documented in 11% of infants. The survival of VLBW infants at KKUH is high and comparable to international figures. Although short term outcomes were quite satisfactory, the high rate of sepsis is alarming and requires urgent intervention