ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the effect of a pilot intervention on setting up a hospital-based neonatal resuscitation leading group in 12 hospitals. Methods One provincial-level, two prefecturelevel and one county-level hospitals in Jiangxi, Liaoning and Hunan province were selected to participate in the intervention. A neonatal resuscitation leading group was set up in each hospital to investigate the mode of resuscitation practice training and re-training, improve and carry on the cooperation between obstetricians and pediatricians, record the steps of neonatal resuscitation of asphyxia cases and lead the exploration of the problems occurred during the process in their own hospital. The changes of asphyxia incidence and neonatal resuscitation process were analyzed to evaluate the effect of the intervention. Results (1) Incidence of neonatal asphyxia during intervention period: 315 neonatal asphyxia cases were recorded, among which 89.5 % (n = 282) were mild and 10. 5% (n=33) cases were severe asphyxia. The mean one-minute Apgar score was the lowest in county-level hospitals (5. 40±1.56), followed by provincial-level hospitals (5.63 ±1.67)and prefecture-level hospitals (6.03 ± 1.41). (2) Resuscitation was not performed according to the guidelines in 47. 9% (151/315) of asphyxia cases. Bag and mask ventilation was not performed according to guideline in 36. 5% (115/315) of cases. (3) Changes of asphyxia incidence after the intervention: the incidence of asphyxia in provincial-level (4.23 % vs 2.66 %, χ2 = 5. 021, P＜0.05)and prefecture-level (2.83% vs 1.67%, χ2 = 4. 948, P＜0.05) hospitals decreased significantly after the intervention. The incidence of severe asphyxia in both provincial-level (χ2 =3. 001, P＞0.05) and prefecture-level (χ2= 0. 966, P＞ 0. 05) hospitals decreased with no statistical significance. The asphyxia incidence in county-level hospitals decreased from 2. 48% to 1. 22% (χ2 = 2. 989, P =0. 084). The incidence of severe asphyxia in county-level hospitals decreased from 0.39% to 0. 00%(χ2=2. 567, P= 0. 035). Conclusions Setting up a hospital-based neonatal resuscitation leading group is an effective method to strengthen resuscitation practice training, promote the cooperation between departments, improve the level of neonatal resuscitation practice and therefore decrease the incidence of neonatal asphyxia in the hospital.