Abstract:
Background and Aims: We aimed to determine the etiologies and outcome of ventilated newborn with NRD in a tertiary health care center of Algeria.
Methods: A retrospective recruiting was conducted over a period of five years (2017-2021), in which were included all newborns with NRD requiring conventional mechanical ventilation hospitalized at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Central Hospital of Army Algiers.
Neonatal respiratory distress was diagnosed based on the presence of one or more of the following signs: an abnormal respiratory rate, expiratory grunting, nasal flaring, chest wall recessions and thoraco-abdominal asynchrony with or without cyanosis, in their files. Socio-demographic and clinical variables of newborns were analyzed.
Results: 200 newborns were analyzed. The main etiologies were hyaline membrane disease (60%), neonatal infections (15%) and transient tachypnea of the newborn (10%). Its neonatal mortality rate was 40 %, mainly associated with neonatal sepsis and complications of mechanical ventilation.
Conclusions: NRD is a frequent emergency and causes high morbidity and mortality. Progress remains to realize through the use of new ventilation modes but also in the global management of the premature infants.
