RISK OF DEATH AND CHARACTERISTICS OF VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT PRETERM INFANTS TREATED AT A HOSPITAL IN LIMA, 2022-2024

Stopp-Wadsworth B.N.J.; Camino-Ayon J.L.; Velásquez-Salazar A.M.; Rivera-Abbiati F. · Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana (2026) · DOI: 10.25176/rfmh.v26i2.7950

Resumen

Introduction: Prematurity is one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality. In Peru, the proportion of preterm births has increased over the past decade. Objective: To describe the prenatal, birth-related, and postnatal clinical characteristics of very-low-birth-weight preterm infants (VLBWPI) and to estimate the risk of death at Hospital Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen from 2022 to 2024. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among 329 preterm infants with a birth weight <1500 g who were cared for in the Neonatology Department. Variables obtained from the NEOCOSUR database and medical records were analyzed. Neonatal mortality rates and cumulative probabilities of death during the first 28 days were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: A total of 329 VLBWPI were included, and the median gestational age was 28 weeks. Overall, 39.2% had extremely low birth weight. The main comorbidities were respiratory distress (92.7%), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (33.7%), and patent ductus arteriosus (31.9%). A total of 76 neonatal deaths were recorded, of which 17 were immediate. The neonatal mortality rate was 231.0 per 1000 live births (95% CI: 182.0–289.1). Overall, 68.4% of neonatal deaths occurred within the first week. The main causes were extreme immaturity (n=40), bacterial sepsis (n=14), and congenital malformations (n=13). Thus, the cumulative probability of death reached 22.7% by day 28, with a higher risk among extremely preterm infants and those with extremely low birth weight. Conclusion: VLBWPI have a high burden of comorbidities and mortality. Therefore, the findings highlight the need to optimize timely management to reduce neonatal mortality in this group. Article published by the Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana of Universidad Ricardo Palma. It is an open access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is duly cited. For commercial use, please contact revista.medicina@urp.edu.pe

Instituciones: Universidad de Piura