NEONATAL RESUSCITATION AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LEVEL III

Abstract

Objectives
To evaluate the neonatal resuscitation at a university hospital level IiI and characterize the pregnant women, the newborns and the resuscitation procedures.

Methods
A retrospective epidemiological study carried out at the Neonatal Unit of the Clinical Hospital in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, in the year 2000 . There were 7 138
newborns enrolled. The following variables were analyzed: maternal (age, prenatal care. drugs, diseases, birth delivery). newborn (sex. birth weight. gestational age, Apgar) and resuscitation (frequency and procedures). Resuscitation procedures were compared among newborns according to their birth weight. Statisticaf analyses: mean and standard deviation, chi-square and t test with p<0.05

Results
The mean maternal age was 24 and 80.0c)/, had prenatal care. Gestational
hypertension (24.0%) and urinary infection (1 7.5%) were the main diseases. Vaginal delivery occurred in 64.0'>/, of the cases. Among the 1 138 newborns. 52.0%
were male. and 24.O% were born preterm; 4.2%, of the latter had less than 31 weeks of gestationaf age. Low birth weight occurred in 23.0% of the cases, and 4.5% of the newborns weighted less than 1 500g. Of all the newborns, 81.0%
had Apgar above or equal to 7 at one minute. The use of inhaling oxygen was higher for babies weighting more than 2 500g. Positive pressure ventilation was the most used resuscitation procedure (15.0%). 7.2c’/, of the newborns required
endotracheal intubation, 1.5% of them required chest compressions. and 1,2% of them, needed drugs' Resuscltation was more frequent in newborns with very low birth weight (72.5%)

Conclusion
Resuscitation was frequent among the newborns weighting less than 1 500g and positive pressure ventilation was the most used procedure. The use of inhaling
oxygen was higher in newborns weighting more than 2500g and, perhaps, it may have been overused. These data show the need for continuous training in neonatal resuscitation.