Effect of CPAP application on newborn baby to decrease neonatal mortality rate in NICU in Slemani City Kurdistan\Iraq

Abstract

Neonatal mortality rate can be defined as the number of deaths after delivery and before 28 days of life, which is different in number and causes from country to country, ranging from high mortality in developing country to low mortality rate in the developed country. CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) is discovered in 1971, but its first use in Kurdistan was in 2012.It is the application of a positive pressure to the airway of a spontaneously breathing infant throughout the respiratory cycle. Slemani is located in the northeast of Kurdistan/Iraq; there is only 20-beds Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the obstetric and gynaecological hospital,which receives neonates from this hospital, and another neonatal intensive care unit in paediatric hospital which consists of 25 beds. The study was cross-sectional, collecting prospective data of neonatal mortality rate and its leading causes of death below 28 days in Slemani city and effect of CPAP in decreasing this rate during 2013 and comparing it to the retrospective data of 2011. A typical calculating system and quantitative approach were used to analyse the data. Data collection was through administration of a questionnaire to the patient’s guardians. Total number of cases in this study was 156 and number of deaths was 26 (16.6%), those with <1.5 kg 14 cases (9%),1.5-2.5kg birth weight in 11 cases(7%) and more than 2.5 kg only 1 case(0.6%).The main cause of death was prematurity, respiratory distress syndrome, infection like sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis. When comparing the recent data to retrospective data especially for admission and mortality rate, the number of admission increase in 2013 (1573 cases more than 2011), however, the mortality rate decreased by 1%, It is statistically significant,because the p-value is less than the common alpha (0.05). We see a notable effect of reducing the mortality rate when using CPAP.