Survival and morbidity among two cohorts of extremely low birth weight neonates from a tertiary hospital in northern India.

This study was conducted to compare the survival and morbidity of extremely low birth weight neonates born during two different time periods (2009-10 and 2001-02) at a Level III referral neonatal unit in Northern India. All consecutive intramural extremely low birth weight neonates (<1000g), irrespective of gestation, and admitted to Intensive Care were enrolled. 149 and 123 neonates were enrolled during 2009-10 and 2001-02, respectively. The baseline characteristics were comparable except for mean birth weight, which was lower during 2009-10 (843±108g vs 885±126g, P=0.003). Surfactant therapy (54% vs 18%, P<0.001), non-invasive ventilation (28% vs 6%, P<0.001), high frequency ventilation (24% vs 4%, P=0.001), IVH (52% vs 25%, P<0.001) and PDA (34% vs 18%, P=0.004) were significantly more during 2009-10. Culture positive sepsis (33% vs 51%, P=0.003) and ROP rates (7% vs 23%, P=0.042) were significantly higher during 2001-02. Overall survival was similar; however, neonates between 28-30 weeks gestation had better survival (63%) during 2009-10 compared to 2001-02 (38%), P=0.009. Survival in neonates 28-30 weeks improved during this period while overall survival remained the same.