TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence and outcomes of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn in a neonatal unit, mankweng hospital, Limpopo Province, South Africa
AU - Nchabeleng, M. J.
AU - Hamese, M. H.K.
AU - Ntuli, T. S.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the management of the hospital for giving us permission to conduct this study. We would also like to extend our appreciation to Andrew Scholtz for proofreading and editing the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, Health and Medical Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background. Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a condition of high pulmonary arterial pressures leading to hypoxaemia and continued shunting of blood across fetal channels as a result of failure of circulatory transition at birth. Objective. To determine the prevalence and outcomes of PPHN at Mankweng Hospital, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Methods. A retrospective descriptive review of patients’ files from January 2015 to December 2017 was conducted. PPHN was diagnosed on echocardiogram. Results. During the 3-year period of the study, a total of 6 776 neonates were admitted to the neonatal unit, of whom 0.76% (n=52) were diagnosed with PPHN. Of these, 98% (n=51) had complete information in their medical records and were further analysed. Slightly more than half (53%) were males, 59% were delivered by caesarean section, 94% had gestational age =37 weeks, and 39% and 14% had Apgar scores of <6 at 1 minute and 5 minutes, respectively. Most neonates (72%) had meconium aspiration as the single risk factor or in combination with other conditions. Nearly half (45.1%) of the neonates with PPHN did not survive. Gender, mode of delivery, and Apgar score were each correlated with PPHN mortality and they all showed no statistically significant association. A significantly higher proportion of non-survivors received inotropic support than survivors (p<0.05). Conclusions. The prevalence of PPHN was found to be lower than in other low- and middle-income countries; nonetheless, the all-cause mortality rate is significantly high. The commonest aetiology of PPHN is meconium aspiration syndrome as a single underlying risk factor, and in combination with other conditions. Most neonates who needed inotropic support died.
AB - Background. Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a condition of high pulmonary arterial pressures leading to hypoxaemia and continued shunting of blood across fetal channels as a result of failure of circulatory transition at birth. Objective. To determine the prevalence and outcomes of PPHN at Mankweng Hospital, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Methods. A retrospective descriptive review of patients’ files from January 2015 to December 2017 was conducted. PPHN was diagnosed on echocardiogram. Results. During the 3-year period of the study, a total of 6 776 neonates were admitted to the neonatal unit, of whom 0.76% (n=52) were diagnosed with PPHN. Of these, 98% (n=51) had complete information in their medical records and were further analysed. Slightly more than half (53%) were males, 59% were delivered by caesarean section, 94% had gestational age =37 weeks, and 39% and 14% had Apgar scores of <6 at 1 minute and 5 minutes, respectively. Most neonates (72%) had meconium aspiration as the single risk factor or in combination with other conditions. Nearly half (45.1%) of the neonates with PPHN did not survive. Gender, mode of delivery, and Apgar score were each correlated with PPHN mortality and they all showed no statistically significant association. A significantly higher proportion of non-survivors received inotropic support than survivors (p<0.05). Conclusions. The prevalence of PPHN was found to be lower than in other low- and middle-income countries; nonetheless, the all-cause mortality rate is significantly high. The commonest aetiology of PPHN is meconium aspiration syndrome as a single underlying risk factor, and in combination with other conditions. Most neonates who needed inotropic support died.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111678716&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7196/SAJCH.2021.v15.i2.1773
DO - 10.7196/SAJCH.2021.v15.i2.1773
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85111678716
SN - 1994-3032
VL - 15
SP - 103
EP - 106
JO - SAJCH South African Journal of Child Health
JF - SAJCH South African Journal of Child Health
IS - 2
ER -