Assessment of premature babies in neonatal care

Objective: Despite the recent scientific and technological advances in neonatology such as antenatal steroid administration, surfactant administration, the use of advanced ventilation techniques, the survival rate of premature babies has increased significantly with strict pregnancy follow-up programs. Preterm delivery is one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality and morbidity worldwide including developed countries. While some of these preterm babies are lost at birth or postpartum, significant problems may arise in survivors due to prematurity. In this study, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), premature retinopathy (ROP), intracranial hemorrhage (IH), patent ductus retrospectively. Materials and Methods: 612 premature infants that are hospitalized in Sakarya University Medical Faculty Education Research Hospital Department of Pediatrics Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) between January 2016 and January 2019 were included in this study. Infants were divided into groups according to birth weight and gestational age. Results: 321 infants were male (%52,4), 291 were female (%47,6). %69,6 of infants were 1500 grams and over, %55,8 were 33 weeks and older. 211 (%34,4) RDS, 16 (%2,6) BPD, 13 (%2,1) NEC, 42 (%6,8) ROP, 12 (%1,9) IH were detected in infants. RDS, BPD, NEC, ROP, IH rates were inversely proportional to the decrease of gestational age and found to be statistically significant. Key Words: Prematurity, Morbidity, Mortality.