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MSc (Med), Population-Based Field Epidemiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / Background Improvements in the health status of children have resulted in a substantive reduction in under-five mortality by two-thirds between 1960 and 1990. However this reduction is favourable for children after the first year in life, with little decrease in the neonatal period. Every year, about 4 million children die within the first 28 days of life, the first week (0-7 days) posing the highest risk. The Fourth Millennium Development Goal emphasises a reduction in child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, however this goal cannot be met because neonatal deaths continue to increase. It is therefore important to make available information on risk factors and the main causes of death that exist at a community level so that appropriate health policies are devised to reduce the mortality burden faced by neonates. Objective The study investigates the relationship between household and maternal socio-demographic characteristics with neonatal mortality in the Kassena-Nankana District from 2001 to 2005. The specific objectives were; (1) To calculate the neonatal mortality rates in the Kassena-Nankana District from 2001 to 2005, (2) To determine the causes of neonatal death for years 2003 to 2005, and (3) To assess the association of household characteristics and maternal socio-demographic characteristics with neonatal deaths in the Kassena-Nankana District from 2001 to 2005. Methods Data from Navrongo DSS in Ghana was used for the analysis. A total of 19 340 live births born from 15 224 households were registered between 1st January 2001 to 31st December 2005. Of these 551 died before the 28th day after birth. The outcome, neonatal mortality was coded as a binary variable and took values 1 if the child died and 0 if the child survived. Neonatal mortality rates were calculated by dividing the total number of deaths for a particular year by the total number of live births for that year, multiplied by 1000. Cause of death data were collected using neonatal specific verbal autopsies. Cause-specific neonatal mortality rates were calculated using physician coding to a list of cause of deaths based on the 9th International Classification for Diseases (ICD). Using the mother‟s household characteristics and assets ownership, a wealth index was constructed as proposed by Filmer and Pritchett to estimate socio-economic status. Chi-square (x2) test at 5% significant level was also done to compare the maternal socio-demographic and neonatal characteristics by neonatal mortality. Logistic regression models were fitted to assess the association between (i) neonatal mortality and socio-economic status (SES) and (ii) between neonatal mortality and maternal as well as neonatal risk factors, while adjusting for potential confounders. Health equity was measured using the concentration index (CI) and the poorest-poor ratio (PPR). Results: The overall neonatal mortality rate for the whole study period was 29 per 1000 live births. Most deaths (65.9%) occurred outside the health facility and most occurred in the early neonatal period (0-7 days). Infectious diseases (n=98, 33.2%), birth injuries (n=28, 9.5%) and prematurity (n=29, 9.8%) were the main causes of neonatal deaths. In the multivariate analysis maternal characteristic that showed an association with mortality were place of residence, SES, birth order and the type of birth outcome. Such that children who died were more often from the rural areas compared to in the urban areas (AOR=2.24 95% CI=1.16-4.34 P=0.016). Children who died were more often from a multiple birth outcome compared to those from a single birth outcome (AOR=0.20 95% CI=0.14-0.28 P<0.0001). SES was found to be protective against neonatal mortality (AOR=0.70 95% CI= 0.51–0.96 P=0.026). By birth order, children who died were more often from the 1st birth order compared to children of birth orders; 2-3 (AOR=0.60 95% CI=0.44-0.81 P=0.001), 4-5 (AOR=0.56 95% CI=0.38-0.84 P=0.005) and 6+ birth order (AOR=0.50 95% CI=0.31-0.8 P=0.005). A measure of health equity gave a C.I of -0.07 and PPR of 1.29 implying that neonatal mortality was high amongst the poorest households than the better ones. Conclusion The study showed that neonatal mortality was high in the rural areas and in the poorest households. Efforts to alleviate the burden of neonatal mortality at a community level should focus on improving living standards for poorest in the community. Also educating women on child health care and making them aware of high risk pregnancy age-groups will help minimize risky pregnancies which in turn will reduce neonatal deaths.

The following study analyzes birthweight-specific neonatal health using a combination of a mixture model and logistic regression: the extended Parametric Mixture of Logistic Regression. The data are collected from the Obstetric database at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and the years 2009 -2013 are used in the analysis. Due to rounding in the birthweight data a novel method to adjust for rounding when estimating a mixture model is applied. The influence of rounding on the estimates is then investigated. A three-component model is selected. The variables used in the analysis of neonatal health are early neonatal mortality, if the mother has HIV, anaemia, is a private patient and if the neonate is born after 36 completed weeks of gestation. It can be concluded that the mortality rates are high especially for low birthweights (2000 or less) in the estimated first and second components. However, due to wide confidence bounds it is hard to draw conclusions from the data.

A research report is submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Sciences in Child Health Johannesburg, 2016 / Background: Leratong Hospital is a regional hospital in the West Rand of Johannesburg, South Africa. Statistics from maternity in 2008 showed high utilisation rates for delivery services at Leratong but a study on neonatal mortality was not yet done. It was therefore essential to measure and analyse the causes of new-born deaths so as to have policies to advance neonatal care. Objectives: To determine the neonatal mortality rate (NMR), the major neonatal causes of death and the occurrence of avoidable health factors. Methods: This was a prospective review of the clinical records of the 46 neonates who died within the 3 month period (15th April 2013 to the 15th July 2013). Data was obtained from neonatal admission and death registers. Information on the number oflive births was obtained from labour ward registers. Delegation books for nurses were checked to determine the number of nursing staff per shift as well as their allocation in different rooms. Neonate's age, birth weight, gender, race, place of origin, reason for admission and cause of death, were analysed. Health factors examined were access to high care services and to the neonatal ICU, number of staff on duty and the use of treatment guidelines. Questionnaires were used to collect information, and the consent to use clinical records was obtained from the mothers. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the frequencies and percentages of variables. Logistic regression of variables was applied to predict mortality. Results: The overall neonatal mortality rate at Leratong Hospital was lower than the rates found in South Africa and other studies in sub-Saharan Africa. Almost 37% of neonates died within 24 hours of admission. The three most common causes of death were: prematurity (39%), perinatal asphyxia (26%) and infection (20%). More than sixty per cent of deaths occurred in the admission room. Three-quarters of neonates who died (74%) were low birth weight neonates. A critical staff shortage (nurse: neonate rati02.: 1:10) was the most common modifiable factor (63% of deaths). Thirty seven per cent of neonates were denied access to ICU. The significant predictors of neonatal death were being born preterm (OR: 3.1, 95% CI 1.7-6.0), extremely low birth weight (OR: 27.5,95% CI 8.2-92.6), very low birth weight (OR: 5.0, 95% CI 2.1-12.3) and birth by caesarean section (OR: 3.2, 95% CI 1.6-6.2). Conclusions: The study found the neonatal mortality rate at Leratong Hospital in 2013 to be lower than rates recorded in South Africa. Our results showed that the most common causes of neonatal mortality were similar to those in other hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa and in South Africa. A high number of neonatal deaths were avoidable by providing high care services (including NCP AP and surfactant) and adequate number of nurses trained in newborn care in the admission room, improving access to neonatal ICU, early detection of perinatal asphyxia and improved neonatal resuscitation, and the supervision of medical doctors. / AC2016

Neonatal mortality remains a problem worldwide, despite the existence of low-cost and evidence-based interventions. Unfortunately, the translation of these interventions into practice is deficient. The aim of this thesis was to study aspects of knowledge translation (KT) before and during the Neonatal Knowledge Into Practice (NeoKIP) trial in Quang Ninh, Vietnam. Over a period of three years, this trial evaluated the use of facilitators from the Women’s Union who supported maternal and newborn health groups (MNHG) comprised of eight local stakeholders, as an intervention for improved neonatal survival. In the first two studies (before intervention) we assessed primary health care staff’s knowledge and material preparedness regarding evidence-based neonatal care and explored how primary health care staff translated knowledge into practice. The last two studies (during intervention) were process evaluations aimed at describing the implementation, process and mechanism of the NeoKIP intervention. Primary health care workers achieved 60% of the maximum score in the knowledge survey. Two separate geographical areas were identified with differences in staff levels of knowledge and concurrent disparities in neonatal survival, antenatal care and post-natal home visits. Staff perceived formal training to be the best way to acquire knowledge but asked for more interaction between colleagues within the healthcare system. Traditional medicine, lack of resources, low workload and poorly paid staff constituted barriers for the development of staff knowledge and skills. Eleven facilitators were trained to cover eight facilitator positions. Of the 44 MNHGs, 43 completed their activities to the end of the study. In total, 95% of the monthly meetings with a MNHG and a facilitator were conducted with attendance at 86%. MNHGs identified 32 unique problems, mainly families’ knowledge/behavior, and implemented 39 unique actions, mostly regarding communication. MNHGs experienced that the group was strategically composed to influence change in the communes and facilitators were identified as being important to sustaining activities over time. The facilitators’ lack of health knowledge was regarded as a deficit in assisting the MNHGs, but their performance and skills increased over time. This low-cost model, building on local stakeholder involvement, has the capacity to be scaled up within existing healthcare structures.

A mortalidade infantil e seus componentes continuam sendo um parÃmetro importante para se avaliar a melhoria das condiÃÃes de saÃde das crianÃas. Objetivos: a) Determinar a evoluÃÃo da mortalidade infantil e neonatal e das variÃveis preditoras associadas aos nascimentos e Ãbitos neonatais no MunicÃpio de Fortaleza no perÃodo de 2004-2008; b) Analisar a relaÃÃo entre tipo de parto, peso ao nascer e idade gestacional dos nascimentos de crianÃas ocorridos no mesmo perÃodo. MÃtodo: estudo de sÃrie temporal. Todos os nascimentos vivos ocorridos no municÃpio de Fortaleza registrados no Sistema de InformaÃÃes de Nascidos Vivos e todos os Ãbitos neonatais provenientes do Sistema de InformaÃÃes de Mortalidade, no perÃodo de 2004 a 2008. Os dados foram obtidos por meio do acesso eletrÃnico aos relatÃrios do Tab Net, no site oficial da Secretaria de SaÃde do MunicÃpio de Fortaleza. TambÃm foram estudados os Ãbitos de menores de um ano de idade. Foram calculados os valores absolutos e suas proporÃÃes das variÃveis preditoras para nascimentos e Ãbitos para cada ano de estudo. Teste de qui-quadrado de tendÃncia foi calculado com base no programa Epi-info 6.04d. A variaÃÃo de proporÃÃo entre o ano de 2004 e o de 2008 para todas as variÃveis estudadas foi determinada. Para analisar as variaÃÃes das proporÃÃes dessas variÃveis foi utilizada a ferramenta comparaÃÃo de proporÃÃes, qui-quadrado de tendÃncia, calculado no comando Stat Calc do programa Epi-info 6.04d. Resultados: Ocorreu reduÃÃo da mortalidade infantil em Fortaleza de aproximadamente 17% (3,4% ao ano) para Mortalidade Neonatal a reduÃÃo foi de 15%, mantendo-se em 17,8%O, reduÃÃo que nÃo alcanÃou significÃncia estatÃstica (p=0,18). Maior reduÃÃo foi verificada para o componente neonatal tardio (30% vs 9,1%). A contribuiÃÃo da mortalidade neonatal para a taxa de Mortalidade Infantil alcanÃou 68% no Ãltimo ano estudado. O grupo de variÃveis preditoras para nascimentos com melhor desempenho no perÃodo foi: Apgar no quinto minuto menor do que sete escolaridade materna e ocorrÃncia de gravidez na adolescÃncia, para as mÃes residentes em Fortaleza. Para as mÃes nÃo residentes, a melhora foi menor e expressa na escolaridade, Apgar no quinto minuto e ocorrÃncia de gravidez na adolescÃncia. No que se refere Ãs mÃes adolescentes, mudanÃas positivas ocorreram nos seguintes indicadores: Apgar no quinto minuto, escolaridade materna, baixo peso ao nascer e reduÃÃo no prÃ-natal incompleto ou ausente. Partos cesarianos aumentaram em 15% para toda amostra, sendo que na Ãrea privada tais Ãndices alcanÃaram 89,8%. ConclusÃo: No perÃodo estudado ocorreu queda da Mortalidade Infantil de 17%; o componente neonatal precoce praticamente se manteve inalterado. Melhora expressiva ocorreu para as seguintes variÃveis preditoras dos nascimentos e Ãbitos: escolaridade materna, reduÃÃo nos partos em adolescentes, Apgar no quinto minuto menor que sete.

Orientador: Renato Passini Júnior / Tese (Doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-27T12:42:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MachadoJunior_LuisCarlos_D.pdf: 2512679 bytes, checksum: 24dd4c071dfcdc0f3d90247ac2b8cd08 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: INTRODUÇÃO: A idade gestacional ao nascimento é um dos principais fatores associados com complicações e mortes neonatais. Crianças nascidas entre 34 semanas e 36 semanas e seis dias de idade gestacional, denominadas prematuros tardios, são, tradicionalmente, considerados como de risco e prognóstico muito semelhantes aos dos recém-nascidos a termo. Estudos mais recentes, porém, têm mostrado que tanto prematuros tardios, quanto aqueles nascidos entre 37 e 38 semanas, apresentam resultados neonatais e no primeiro ano de vida, significativamente piores que os dos recém-nascidos a partir de 39 semanas. OBJETIVOS: revisar a literatura sobre o tema, analisar a prevalência de nascimento de prematuros tardios no tempo e comparar a frequência de mortes e complicações neonatais nos prematuros tardios e nos nascidos entre 37 e 38 semanas, com as mortes e complicações neonatais dos recém-nascidos a partir de 39 semanas. MÉTODO: revisão de literatura englobando os bancos de dados Medline, Lilacs e Biblioteca Cochrane. Realizado estudo de coorte retrospectiva com os dados de recém-nascidos vivos atendidos no Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher (CAISM) da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), de janeiro de 2004 a dezembro de 2010. Os dados foram extraídos a partir do arquivo eletrônico da instituição. Foram excluídos os casos sem informação sobre a idade gestacional, as malformações e doenças congênitas fetais e as gestações múltiplas. Além das mortes neonatais, foram estudadas as seguintes complicações: hemorragia do sistema nervoso central, convulsões, índice de Apgar menor que sete no primeiro e quinto minutos, pneumonia, atelectasia, displasia broncopulmonar, pneumotórax, laringite pós entubação, síndrome de aspiração de mecônio, hipotermia, hipocalcemia e icterícia. As variáveis de controle foram: idade materna, estado civil, tabagismo, realização de pré-natal, hipertensão arterial (pré eclampsia ou crônica), diabetes, infecção urinária, outras morbidades maternas, primiparidade, cinco ou mais partos anteriores, tipo de parto, crescimento fetal restrito e sexo do recém-nascido. Para análise estatística foi aplicado o teste de qui-quadrado e o teste exato de Fisher, quando indicado. Assumiu-se o valor de p menor que 0,05 como significâncias estatísticas. Foi utilizado odds ratio (OR) como medida de efeito e a regressão logística múltipla para a análise multivariada. RESULTADOS: Foram estudados 18.032 nascimentos únicos, sendo 1.653 prematuros tardios e 16.379 recém nascidos de termo. Houve mais mortes neonatais (OR ajustado = 5.30; IC 95%: 2,61?10,74) nos prematuros tardios em comparação com os recém-nascidos a termo (nascidos entre 37 e 42 semanas). Também houve mais mortes neonatais (OR ajustado = 2,44; IC 95% 1,05-5,63) nos recém-nascidos de termo precoce comparados aos de termo tardio. Houve associação significativa para todas as complicações estudadas com a prematuridade tardia, exceto para síndrome de aspiração de mecônio. Encontrou-se tendência significativa de aumento na proporção de prematuros tardios em relação ao total dos partos ao longo do período estudado. CONCLUSÃO: Conclui-se que tanto os prematuros tardios quanto os nascidos entre 37 e 38 semanas são uma população de maior risco se comparados aos recém-nascidos a partir de 39 semanas / Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Gestational age at birth is a major determinant of neonatal mortality and complications. The risk of death and complications in infants born at 34 to 36 weeks of pregnancy (named late preterm infants) has been traditionally considered to be very similar to that of term infants. Some recent studies, however, have shown that late preterm infants, as well as those born at 37 and 38 weeks, have significantly worse outcomes in the neonatal period and in the first year of life than those born at 39 weeks or later. OBJECTIVE: to conduct a literature review on this issue; assess the prevalence and any temporal trend in late preterm births in the period that was studied; to compare neonatal deaths and complications in late preterm infants versus term infants, and compare neonatal deaths in infants born at 37 and 38 weeks (early term) versus those born at 39 to 42 weeks (late term). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of live births was carried out in the Women's Integrated Healthcare Center (CAISM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), from January 2004 to December 2010. Data were extracted from an electronic database containing all medical records of the institution. Excluded from the study were congenital diseases and malformations, multiple pregnancies and cases without data on gestational age. Outcomes studied were neonatal deaths, length of hospital stay and the following complications: central nervous system hemorrhage, convulsions, Apgar score lower than seven at the first and fifth minute, pneumonia, atelectasis, pneumothorax, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, pulmonary hypertension, postintubation laryngitis, meconium aspiration syndrome, hypothermia, hypocalcemia and jaundice. Control variables were: maternal age, marital status, smoking habit, and absence of prenatal care, maternal hypertensive disease, maternal diabetes, urinary tract infection, other maternal morbid condition, primiparity, five or more previous births, fetal growth restriction, fetal gender, labor induction and pre labor cesarean section. It was used the chi square test and Fischer's exact test when indicated. The odds ratio (OR) was used as a measure of effect and multiple logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. A significant level of 5% was adopted. RESULTS: After exclusions, there were 18,032 single births (1,653 late preterm births and 16,379 term births). An adjusted OR of 5.30; 95% confidence interval of 2.61--- 10.74 was found for neonatal death in late preterm births compared to term births (at 37 to 42 weeks), and an adjusted OR of 2.44; 95 confidence interval of 1.05-5.63 for neonatal death in early term births compared to late term births. A significantly higher risk was found in late preterm infants compared to term infants for all complications studied, except for meconium aspiration syndrome. There was a significantly growing trend in the proportion of late preterm births at the institution in the period studied. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that late preterm infants are at higher risk of undesirable outcomes than term infants. Furthermore, early term infants have a higher risk of death compared to late term infants and these differences are clinically relevant / Doutorado / Saúde Materna e Perinatal / Doutor em Ciências da Saúde

Introdução: A internação em unidade neonatal está intimamente ligada à mortalidade neonatal e compartilham muitas causas e determinantes. Apesar de inúmeros estudos sobre os fatores de risco para mortalidade neonatal, pesquisas sobre os determinantes da internação dos recém-nascidos em unidade neonatal logo após o nascimento são iniciativas recentes. Objetivos: Analisar os fatores determinantes da internação de neonatos nas primeiras 24 horas de vida em uma unidade neonatal da região Oeste do município de São Paulo. Método: Tratou-se de um estudo retrospectivo, do tipo caso-controle não pareado, realizado em uma maternidade municipal. A amostra foi composta por 205 casos e 205 controles, no período de 01 de janeiro de 2016 a 31 de dezembro de 2017. Para verificar a associação entre a variável dependente internação na unidade neonatal nas primeiras 24 horas de vida e as variáveis independentes, foram realizadas análises bivariadas com cálculo de Odds Ratio (OR), com nível de significância de 5%, e intervalo de confiança 95%, por meio de testes qui-quadrado ou testes exatos (teste da razão de verossimilhanças ou teste exato de Fisher). As variáveis com valor de p<0,20 foram analisadas pelo modelo de regressão logística múltipla hierarquizada. No entanto, fizeram parte do modelo final apenas as variáveis com significância estatística. Resultados: as variáveis que permaneceram no modelo final associadas à internação nas primeiras 24 horas de vida em unidade neonatal de uma maternidade da região Oeste do município de São Paulo, por ordem decrescente de associação ao desfecho foram: índice de apgar no 1º <7 (OR=227,56; IC95% 35,49 - 1458,66), idade gestacional < 37 semanas (OR= 31,66; IC95% 7,47-134,121), não ter realizado consulta de pré-natal (OR=21,224; IC95% 1,65 - 271,91), peso ao nascer <2500g (OR=9,88; IC95% 2,01 - 48,57), uso de drogas ilícitas durante a gestação (OR= 5,31; IC95% 1,18 - 23,87), presença de líquido amniótico com mecônio (OR= 2,69; IC95% 1,25 - 7,54), tempo decorrido entre admissão e parto > 24 horas (OR= 2,68; IC95% 1,08 - 6,63),. A variável raça/cor da pele da mãe não branca apresentou-se como um fator protetor, com uma chance de internação de recém-nascidos nas primeiras 24 horas de vida em unidade neonatal 69% menor que os recém-nascidos de mães brancas.(OR=0,314; IC95% 0,157 -0,627; p=0,001).Conclusão: Comportamentos maternos de risco e problemas no acompanhamento pré-natal, e de assistência ao trabalho de parto e parto podem desencadear situações que aumentam a demanda por internação em unidade neonatal nas primeiras 24 horas de vida. Os achados deste estudo corroboram a importância de se investigar fatores associados à internação em unidade neonatal logo após o nascimento, pois possibilita identificar grupos expostos a diferentes conjuntos de fatores e detectar distintas necessidades de saúde, fornecendo subsídios para ações direcionadas aos recém-nascidos graves ou potencialmente graves, e a consequente redução dos óbitos neonatais. / Introduction: Neonatal unit hospitalization is closely linked to neonatal mortality and shares many causes and determinants. Despite numerous studies on risk factors for neonatal mortality, researches on the determinants in neonatal hospital admission to the neonatal unit right after birth are recent. Studying those aspects makes it possible to identify groups exposed to different sets of circumstances and to detect different health needs, providing resources for actions directed towards the serious or potentially serious ill newborns, and therefore reducing neonatal deaths. Objectives: To assess the determinants of neonatal hospitalization in the first 24 hours of life in a neonatal unit in the Western region of the city of São Paulo. Method: This was a retrospective, unpaired case-control study carried out in a municipal maternity hospital in the western region of the city of São Paulo (SP). The sample consisted of 205 cases and 205 controls. The criteria to be considered as a case was to be born alive by hospital delivery and admitted in a Neonatal Unit (Neonatal ICU or Regular Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit) during the first 24 hours of life, from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017. The controls are the babies that were born alive in the same period of cases and who were referred together with their mothers to the joint maternal accommodation unit. Twin neonates, anencephalic, home-delivered babies who were later admitted in the hospital, and newborns whose medical records were in external file, being unavailable for analysis. In order to assess the association between the dependent variable \"hospitalization in the neonatal unit in the first 24 hours of life\" and the independent variables, bivariate analyzes were performed as Odds Ratio (OR), with significance level of 5%, and a confidence interval of 95%, by Chi-square tests or exact tests (likelihood ratio test or Fisher\'s exact test). The variables that presented a p value <0.20 were analyzed by the hierarchical multiple logistic regression model. However, only the statistically significant variables were part of the final model. Results: Independently of the other characteristics evaluated, the variables that remained in the final model associated to the hospitalization in the first 24 hours of life in a neonatal unit of a maternity hospital in the western region of the city of São Paulo, in decreasing order of association to the outcome were: first minute Apgar Score < 7 (OR=227,56; IC95% 35,49 - 1458,66), gestational age <37 weeks (OR= 31,66; IC95% 7,47-134,121), absence of a prenatal visit appointment (OR=21,224; IC95% 1,65 - 271,91), birth weight <2500g (OR=9,88; IC95% 2,01 - 48,57), use of illicit drugs during the pregnancy (OR= 5,31; IC95% 1,18 - 23,87), presence of amniotic fluid with meconium(OR= 2,69; IC95% 1,25 - 7,54), time elapsed between admission and delivery > 24 hours (OR= 2,68; IC95% 1,08 - 6,63). The race / color variable of the non-white mother presented as a protective factor, with a chance of hospitalization of newborns in the first 24 hours of life in a neonatal unit 69% lower than the newborns of white mothers. Conclusion: Maternal risk behaviors and problems in prenatal care, assistance to labor and delivery may trigger situations that increase the demand for hospitalization in neonatal unit in the first 24 hours of life. The findings of this study corroborate the importance of investigating factors associated with hospitalization in a neonatal unit shortly after birth, as it allows the identification of groups exposed to different sets of factors and the detection of different health needs, providing resources for actions aiming the serious ill newborns or potentially seriously ill newborns, and consequent reduction of neonatal deaths.

A mortalidade neonatal, em vários países do mundo, corresponde ao componente mais expressivo da mortalidade infantil. No Brasil, esta mortalidade mantém-se em patamares elevados e com acentuadas desigualdades regionais em sua distribuição. Este estudo teve como objetivos, analisar a tendência temporal e fatores associados à mortalidade neonatal, identificar padrões na sua distribuição espacial e a relação desta com as condições de vida além de analisar a evolução das desigualdades sociais no risco de morte neonatal e suas relações com características maternas, condições de nascimento, atenção à saúde e de condições de vida em Salvador, Bahia, no período de 1980 a 2006. No primeiro artigo que compõe esta tese, construiu-se uma série temporal dos óbitos neonatais de 1980 a 2006, enquanto nos segundo e terceiro artigos, correspondentes a estudos de agregados espaciais referentes a 2000-2006, Zonas de Informação (ZI) compuseram as unidades de análise. Estas foram agregadas em estratos de elevada, intermediária, baixa e muito baixa condição de vida, com base em um Índice de Condições de Vida. Análise de Componentes Principais, Correlação de Spearman, Regressão Linear ordinal e espacial e Qui-Quadrado de tendência foram métodos empregados na análise dos dados, além do Teste I de Moran (Global e Local) para avaliar dependência espacial, e Risco Relativo, para avaliar as desigualdades sociais. Os resultados demonstraram tendência de estabilização dos óbitos neonatais a partir de 1992 e as três principais causas são redutíveis por adequada atenção à gestação, ao parto e ao recém-nascido. Evidenciou-se autocorrelação espacial entre as taxas (I=0,1717; p=0,0100). O padrão espacial detectado teve a proporção de nascidos vivos (NV) com baixo peso como seu principal fator explicativo e definiu os maiores riscos para esta mortalidade (> 9,0/1000 NV) concentrados em áreas do centro e subúrbio, e os mais baixos (3,2 a 5,5/1000NV) ao sul e leste da cidade. Demonstrou-se associação da mortalidade neonatal com as condições de vida, confirmada pelo gradiente linear e crescente do risco nesta mortalidade do estrato de melhor para o de pior condição de vida, indicando a influência da desigualdade social nesta mortalidade. Há indícios de redução desta desigualdade, devido ao decréscimo ocorrido no estrato de intermediária condição de vida (β= -0,93; 0,039), aliada à reduzida variação no risco de morte neonatal do estrato de elevada condição de vida. São necessárias novas estratégias para a redução da mortalidade neonatal que contemplem maior qualificação e reestruturação da atenção à saúde materno-infantil, bem como outras que promovam melhorias nas condições de vida da população, sob o risco de comprometer a velocidade de decréscimo da mortalidade infantil no município. / Neonatal mortality in several countries of the world corresponds to the major component of infant mortality. In Brazil, this mortality remains at high levels and with marked regional differences in its distribution. This study aimed to analyze the trend and factors associated with neonatal mortality, identify patterns in their spatial distribution and the relationship between living conditions and to analyzing the evolution of social inequalities in risk of neonatal mortality and its relationship to maternal characteristics, conditions of birth, health care and living conditions in Salvador, Bahia, from 1980 to 2006. In the first article that makes up this thesis, we constructed a series of neonatal deaths from 1980 to 2006, whereas in the second and third articles, corresponding to spatial aggregation studies concerning the 2000-2006 period, Information Zones (IZ) were the units analysis. These were aggregated into strata of high, intermediate, low and very low standard of living based on an index of Living Conditions. Principal Component Analysis, Spearman correlation, linear regression, and chi-square test were used in data analysis, besides Moran’s Test I (Global and Local) in order to evaluate spatial dependence, and relative risk for social inequalities evaluation. The results showed a trend towards stabilization of neonatal deaths from 1992 and the three main causes are reducible by adequate attention to pregnancy, labor and the newborn. It was observed autocorrelation between the rates (I = 0.1717, p = 0.0100). The proportion of low birth weight as the main determinant of the spatial pattern detected and defined the greatest risk for infant mortality (>9.0/1000NV) concentrated in the downtown areas and suburbs, and the lowest (3.2 to 5.5/1000NV) to the south and east of the city. It was observed an association between neonatal mortality and living conditions, confirmed by the linear and increasing gradient of mortality risk as we go from the best stratum of living conditions to the worst one, indicating the influence social inequality on neonatal mortality. There is evidence that reducing inequality, due to the decrease occurred in the stratum living conditions (β = -0.93, 0.039), combined with reduced variation in the risk of neonatal death of the stratum living conditions. We need new strategies to reduce neonatal mortality, covering more advanced training and restructuring of attention to maternal and child health, as well as others that promote improvements in living conditions of population at risk of compromising the rate of decrease in infant mortality municipality.

Trisomy 21 (T21), trisomy 18 (T18) and trisomy 13 (T13) represent the most common autosomal trisomies detected in live-born infants. Previous studies have addressed interventions, morbidities and survival in term or near-term infants with T21, T18 or T13, or were limited by a small number of patients. However, the combination of one of these chromosomal anomalies and very low birth weight (VLBW) presents greater challenges. Data from the NICHD Neonatal Research Network (NRN) and from the Vermont Oxford Network (VON) databases were used to examine the frequency, interventions, risk of mortality and neonatal morbidities, including patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), late onset sepsis (LOS), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), among VLBW infants with T21, T18 or T13 compared to VLBW infants without major birth defects (BD) and VLBW infants with non-chromosomal BD. Anthropometric VON charts for the assessment of birth weight for gestational age among 22 week to term infants with T21, T18 or T13 were also developed. In the VON database (n=539,509), the frequency of VLBW infants diagnosed with T21 was 1681 (0.31%), with T18 was 1416 (0.27%), and with T13 was 435 (0.08%). Major surgery was reported for 30.4% of infants with T21, 9.2% with T18, and 6.8% with T13. In-hospital mortality occurred for 33.1% of infants with T21, 89.0% with T18, and 92.4% with T13. Median survival time was 4 days (95% CI: 3-4) among infants with T18 and 3 days (95% CI: 2-4) among infants with T13. Birth weight for gestational age charts were created using VON data with a total of 5147 infants with T21 aged 22-41 weeks, 1053 infants with T18 aged 22-41 weeks, and 613 infants with T13 aged 22-40 weeks. Among the three groups, infants with T18 were the most likely to be growth restricted while infants with T21 were the least likely to be growth restricted. The new anthropometric VON charts for infants with T21 were also compared to the Lubchenco and Fenton charts and both showed frequent misclassification of infants with T21 as small or large for gestational age. In the NICHD NRN database (n=52,259), 133 (0.26%) VLBW infants were diagnosed with T21, 132 (0.25%) with T18 and 40 (0.08%) with T13. The adjusted relative risk, estimated using Poisson regression models with robust variance estimators, showed an increased risk of death, PDA, NEC, LOS, and BPD among infants with T21 relative to infants with no BD. Relative to infants with non-chromosomal BD, infants with T21 were at increased risk of PDA and NEC. A trend toward a lower risk of ROP was observed among infants with T21 compared to infants with non-chromosomal BD and infants without major BD. Infants with T13, but not infants with T18, were less likely to be mechanically ventilated than infants with T21 and infants without BD. Infants with T18 had increased risk of PDA compared to infants with T13, infants with T21 and infants without BD and increased risk of BPD compared to infants with T21 and infants without BD. The current studies evaluated the largest cohorts of VLBW infants with T21, T18 or T13. These data are important to help families and care providers make informed decisions involving the care of their VLBW infants with these chromosomal anomalies.