Short-term outcome of very low birth weight infants in a developing country: comparison with the Vermont Oxford Network.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the outcome of very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) admitted to a level III NICU in UAE and compare the results to percentiles published by the Vermont Oxford Network (VON).


METHODS
Outcome data were collected retrospectively, using standard definitions, on a cohort of VLBWI 500-1500 g admitted between January 2004 and December 2006.


RESULTS
Of the 173 infants weighing 501-1500 g at birth, 85.6% survived until discharge, which corresponds to the 50th percentile (P50) of VON. Chronic lung disease (CLD) occurred in 12.1% (<P25), death or CLD 26.6%, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) 5.8% (<P50), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) of any grade 17.5% (P25), grade III or IV IVH in 5% (P25), periventricular leucomalacia (PVL) 2.8% (P50), retinopathy of prematurity stage (ROP) 11.3% (<P10). The mortality and morbidity data for the subgroups of 501-1000 g and 1001-1500 g birth weight are also reported.


CONCLUSIONS
We report the outcome of VLBWI born in a developing country with high resources. The rates of CLD, IVH and ROP were < or =25th percentile of the VON and mortality, NEC and PVL were in the 50th percentile.
Chedid
Fares
F
Tawam University Hospital, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE. fareschedid@hotmail.com
Shanteer
Suhair
S
Haddad
Habib
H
Musharraf
Iram
I
Shihab
Zuhair
Z
Imran
Ahmad
A
Adma
Hossam Abou
HA
Salman
Nada
N
Rahmani
Aiman
A
D015331:Cohort Studies; D019049:Developed Countries; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014479:United Arab Emirates / Q000453:epidemiology