ABSTRACT
Selective improvements in neonatal care resources and practices were instituted between 1992/1994 (period 1) and 1995/1998 (period 2) following a neonatal audit in the United Arab Emirates. We evaluated the effect of these changes on neonatal mortality rate (NNMR), birth-weight-specific mortality rates and causes of mortality. Overall there was a 17% decline in the NNMR from periods 1 to 2. Mortality rates in infants with birth weight < 1000 g and > 2500 g decreased by 36% and 35% respectively from periods 1 to 2. Modest declines in deaths from asphyxia, sepsis and complications of preterm births occurred from periods 1 to 2 but the differences were not statistically significant.
Subject(s)
Health Resources/organization & administration , Intensive Care, Neonatal/organization & administration , Neonatology/organization & administration , Perinatal Care/organization & administration , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/organization & administration , Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use , Asphyxia Neonatorum/mortality , Birth Weight , Cause of Death , Congenital Abnormalities/mortality , Health Services Research , Hospitals, Teaching , Humans , Infant Mortality , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Premature, Diseases/mortality , Medical Audit , Organizational Innovation , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Pulmonary Surfactants/therapeutic use , Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/drug therapy , Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/mortality , Sepsis/mortality , United Arab Emirates/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Selective improvements in neonatal care resources and practices were instituted between 1992/1994 [period 1] and 1995/1998 [period 2] following a neonatal audit in the United Arab Emirates. We evaluated the effect of these changes on neonatal mortality rate [NNMR], birth-weight-specific mortality rates and causes of mortality. Overall there was a 17% decline in the NNMR from periods 1 to 2. Mortality rates in infants with birth weight < 1000 g and > 2500 g decreased by 36% and 35% respectively from periods 1 to 2. Modest declines in deaths from asphyxia, sepsis and complications of preterm births occurred from periods 1 to 2 but the differences were not statistically significant
Subject(s)
Congenital Abnormalities , Asphyxia Neonatorum , Birth Weight , Cause of Death , Health Services Research , Intensive Care, Neonatal , Health ResourcesABSTRACT
We report an outbreak of Serratia marcescens infection in a special-care baby unit (SCBU) of a university-affiliated community hospital in the United Arab Emirates. The outbreak involved 36 infants and lasted for 20 weeks. Seven of the colonized infants developed invasive illnesses in the form of bacteraemia (four cases), bacteraemic meningitis (two) and clinical sepsis (one). Three other term infants had purulent conjunctivitis. There were five deaths with an overall mortality of 14%. S. marcescens was cultured from airflow samples from the air conditioning (AC) which was the reservoir of infection in this outbreak. Elimination of the nosocomial source and outbreak containment were eventually achieved by specialized robotic cleaning of the entire AC duct system of the SCBU. Strict adherence to the infection control policies was reinforced to prevent transmission of cross-infection.
