Pattern of Neonatal Surgical Admissions and Outcome of the Surgeries

Ahmed A. Hussein, Tayyaba Batool, Khalid A. Alzahrani, Amal S. Alghamdi, Muhammad Faisal Alzahrani, F Alzahrani, Hamdi Qatar

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the pattern of neonatal surgical admissions and outcomes of surgeries.

Study design 

Retrospective descriptive case series.

Place & Duration of study

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), King Fahad Hospital, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia, from May 2021 to May 2023.

Methods

The medical records of neonates admitted with surgical congenital anomalies were analysed for the pattern of diseases and the outcome of the treatment provided at a tertiary care hospital. Variables analyzed included demographic data, surgical details, complications, and follow-up. SPSS v28 was used with descriptive statistics to summarize key findings.

ResultsA total of 41  neonates  were managed. There was a slight female preponderance (n=24 - 58.5%). All patients were Saudi nationals. The mean age of the patients was 26.6±8.3 days and 27 (65.9%) were preterm births. Mean birth weight was 2.47±0.79 kg. There were 14 (34.1%) low birth weight babies. The common surgical conditions included anorectal malformations (n=12 - 29.3%), necrotizing enterocolitis (n=6 - 14.6%), and hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (n=6 - 14.6%). Common surgeries were anoplasty (14.7%) and pyloromyotomy (14.6%). The mean age at surgery was 16.24 days. Postoperative complications occurred in 4.9%. The mortality rate was 17.1%, primarily due to necrotizing enterocolitis. The mean hospital stay was 29.12 days, and 9.8% required additional surgical intervention.

Conclusion

The mortality rate was high due to babies who developed necrotizing enterocolitis.

Key words 

Neonatal surgery, Necrotizing enterocolitis, Surgical outcome, Anorectal malformations.