Clinical spectrum of respiratory distress in newborns admitted to NICU of tertiary care hospital - A Prospective Observational study

Abstract

Introduction: The respiratory distress is one of the commonest problems encountered in neonates of all gestation periods and is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality. Materials and methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics after Ethical Committee approval. The inclusion criteria was neonates born after 26 weeks gestation and above and till 28 days of life (in-born and out- born).The exclusion criteria was parents of the newborn who refused to give consent and neonates with gross congenital malformations. Results: Out of the 190 neonates, 84(44.2%) were female and 106 (55.8%) were male. The minimum maternal age was 20 years and maximum was 40 years. Out of 190 neonates with respiratory distress, 98 mothers received antenatal corticosteroids which accounted to 51.6%. Among the preterm babies with respiratory distress, out of 118 neonates, 48 had mild (40.7%), 68 had moderate (57.6%) and 2 had severe (1.7%) respiratory distress according to Silverman scoring system. Among the term babies with respiratory distress, out of 72 neonates, 52 had mild (72.2%), 18 had moderate (25.0%) and 2 had severe (2.8%) respiratory distress according to Downe’s scoring system. Out of 190 neonates with respiratory distress, surfactant was administered for 22 neonates which accounted to 11.6%. On comparing antenatal corticosteroids administration with respiratory distress syndrome, it was found to be statistically significant with a p-value of 0.003 that administration of antenatal corticosteroids significantly reduced occurrence of respiratory distress syndrome in neonates. Conclusion: The most common cause for Respiratory distress at Tertiary Unit Care was Respiratory distress syndrome. Statistically significance reduction in incidence of Respiratory distress syndrome with administration of antenatal steroids strengthens the existing knowledge of role of antenatal steroids in the outcome of preterm neonates.