Determinants of neonatal mortality among preterm births in Black Lion Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a case–cohort study

BACKGROUND: Preterm neonatal death is a global burden in both developed and developing countries. In Ethiopia, it is the first and fourth cause of newborn and under-5 deaths, respectively. From 2015 to present, the government of Ethiopia showed its effort to improve the survival of neonates, mainly preterm births, through the inclusion of high-impact life-saving neonatal interventions. Despite these efforts, the cause of preterm neonatal death is still not reduced as expected. Therefore, this study aimed to identify determinants of preterm neonatal mortality. METHODS: An institution-based retrospective case–cohort study was conducted among a cohort of preterm neonates who were born between March 2013 and February 2018. A total of 170 cases were considered when the neonates died during the retrospective follow-up period, which was confirmed by reviewing a medical death certificate. Controls were 404 randomly selected charts of neonates who survived the neonatal period. Data were collected from patient charts using a data extraction tool, entered using EpiData V.3.1 and analysed using STATA V.14. Finally, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed, and goodness of fit of the final model was tested using the likelihood ratio test. Statistical significance was declared at a p value of ≤0.05. RESULTS: In this study, the overall incidence rate of mortality was 39.1 (95% CI: 33.6 to 45.4) per 1000 neonate-days. Maternal diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR (AOR): 2.3 (95% CI: 1.4 to 3.6)), neonatal sepsis (AOR: 1.6 (95% CI: 1.1 to 2.4)), respiratory distress (AOR: 1.5 (95% CI: 1.1 to 2.3)), extreme prematurity (AOR: 2.9 (95% CI: 1.61 to 5.11)), low Apgar score (AOR: 3.1 (95% CI: 1.79 to 5.05)) and premature rupture of membranes (AOR: 2.3 (95% CI: 1.8 to 3.5)) were found to be predictors. CONCLUSION: In this study, the overall incidence was found to be high. Premature rupture of membranes, maternal diabetes mellitus, sepsis, respiratory distress, extreme prematurity and low Apgar score were found to be predictors of neonatal mortality. Therefore, it should be better to give special attention to patients with significantly associated factors.