Retrospective evaluation of the frequency of growth restriction at discharge in premature babies with a birth weight below 1500 grams in the newborn intensive care unit

IntroductionandObjective: This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the frequency of growth retardation at discharge in premature babies with birth weight <1500 grams who were hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Adıyaman Training and Research Hospital. MaterialandMethod: 240 very low birth weight (VLBW) premature babies hospitalized in the NICU between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 were included in the study. The data required for the study were obtained retrospectively from patient files, epicrisis information and the database of the neonatal intensive care unit. Results: The gestational age of the babies participating in the study was between 21 and 36 weeks, and the average was 28±3 weeks. Of the babies participating in the study, 3.8% (n=9) were under 22 weeks, 21.7% (n=52) were between 23-25 weeks, 48.3% (n=116) were between 26-29 weeks, % It was determined that 22.9 of them (n=55) were between 30-33 weeks and 3.3% (n=8) were 34 weeks and above. The average body weight of all babies was found to be 988±295 g. The average height was 35±4 cm and the average head circumference (WC) was 25.8±3.9 cm. When the birth patterns of babies are examined; It was observed that 13.8% (n=33) were born by normal birth and 86.2% (n=206) were born by cesarean section. It was determined that 82.8% (n=198) of the babies were born singletons, 15.9% (n=38) were twins, and 1.3% (n=3) were triplets. It was determined that 9.6% (n=23) of the babies admitted to the NICU were SGA. Of the 240 babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, 51.2% (n=123) were discharged and 37.5% (n=90) were discharged. ) was found to have exitus and 11.3% (n=27) were referred to another center. When the percentiles of the babies were examined according to their discharge weights; 27.6% (n=34) below the 3 percentile, 31.7% (n=39) below the 3-10 percentile, 26.8% (n=33) below the 10-50 percentile, 1% It was determined that 6 of them (n=2) were in the 50-90 percentile and 12.2% (n=15) were in the 90-97 percentile. When the distribution of the nutritional status of the babies during their hospitalization was examined; It was determined that 72% (n = 89) were fed with enriched breast milk (ZMS), 18% (n = 22) were fed with formula, and 10% (n = 12) were fed with both ZMS and formula. Conclusion: Growth retardation continues to be an important problem, especially in very low birth weight babies, despite early initiation of optimal parenteral nutrition and enteral nutrition. Since inadequate weight gain may lead to neurodevelopmental problems, very low birth weight babies should be followed closely after discharge and optimal nutritional support should be provided. Keywords: premature, very low birth weight baby, discharge, extrauterine growth restriction