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

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 ? 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