Abstract:
Introduction: Globally, respiratory distress is one of the main causes of neonatal morbidity and
mortality. It is a serious problem in developing countries like Ethiopia that have limited resource
setting. Its recovery time may vary across health facilities based on the quality of care.
However, information related to and recovery time associated with respiratory distress remains
limited in Ethiopia.
Objective: The aim of the study was to assess time to recovery and its predictors among
neonates admitted with respiratory distress in neonatal intensive care unit at University of
Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, 2021.
Methods: A retrospective study was done among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care
unit in University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital from January, 1/2020 to
December, 31/2020. Data were collected using data extraction checklist from the medical
registry. The extracted data was entered in to EP INFO version 7.2.1.0, and then was exported
to STATA version 14 for analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival was used to depict the pattern of
recovery and Cox-Proportional model was used to identify the predictors of the neonatal
recovery time from respiratory distress and p
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0.05 was statically declared that significant
associations.
Results: A total 452 neonates enrolled in to the study. The overall recovery rate from
respiratory distress was 11.5 per 100 person day
Conclusion: The median time to recovery from respiratory distress was similar in our country
but shorter than other studies in abroad. Special attention should be given in managing
neonates with sepsis; hypothermic, very low birth weight, low birth weight, very preterm
neonates and Apgar score less than seven in both first and fifth minute to reduce recovery time
from respiratory distress and enhance good outcome.
Keywords: Time to recovery, respiratory distress, neonatal intensive care unit, Ethiopia
