PREVALENCE, AETIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF NEO-NATAL SEPSIS IN THE SPECIAL CARE BABY UNIT OF A TEACHING HOSPITAL IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

Aluko, Joel Ojo; Onasoga, Olayinka A; Olasunkanmi, Israel Abayomi & Olowolafe, E.O.

Abstract

Neonatal sepsis is one of the most common reasons for admission to neonatal intensive care units in developing countries. It is also a major cause of mortality in both developed and developing countries. This retrospective descriptive study assessed the prevalence, aetiology and management of neonatal sepsis in a teaching hospital in South-West, Nigeria. A checklist was used by the researchers to collect data from the records. Data were cleaned, coded and analyzed using the SPSS version 20. Data were presented using frequency tables, while the chi-square was used to test the hypotheses at p≤0.05 level of significance. Results from the study indicate that half of the children admitted were out born, and 81.6% had neonatal sepsis on admission. Moreso, results show that 81.2% initiated breastfeeding, while 16.4% were fed by tube. However, 10.1% of the babies died. Also, results from the study indicate that the greater proportion of the neonates, 51.2% were out-born, while 17.9% were admitted from private hospitals and home, respectively.In addition, 23.2% of the women delivered via elective caesarean section. Results from the study also show that 18.4% of the participants had hypertension, while 12.1% had pre-eclampsia and 15.5% of the respondents had premature rupture of membranes, while 13.5% had prolonged labour.There is a great need to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with neonatal sepsis to the barest minimum by ensuring that women are educated on proper infection control and treatment of maternal illnesses. Conditions surrounding labour such as frequent vaginal examinations, which could lead to neonatal sepsis should also be reduced to the barest minimum in order to reduce the risks of developing neonatal sepsis.