Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine, University for Development Studies, Box TL, 1350, Tamale, Ghana.
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Box TL 16, Tamale, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2024 May 16;19(5):e0303159. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303159. eCollection 2024.
Neonatal hypothermia, defined as an axillary temperature of <36.5C in a neonate, is common in neonatal intensive care units and is almost universal across all geographic and climatic regions of the world. This is even though environmental temperature is a known risk factor for its occurrence. We conducted a retrospective study in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) to document the prevalence and risk factors associated with hypothermia at presentation to the hospital. The study spanned the period from January 2019 to December 2019 and involved all neonates with axillary temperature documented at the time of admission. The prevalence of neonatal hypothermia in this study was 54.76%. Hypothermia was most common in neonates diagnosed with meconium aspiration syndrome (87/105, 82.86%), prematurity and low birth weight (575/702, 81.91%), and birth asphyxia (347/445, 77.98%). Neonates who were delivered vaginally were less likely to develop hypothermia compared to those delivered via Cesarean section. Inborn neonates (delivered in TTH) were 3.2 times more likely to be hypothermic when compared to those who were delivered at home. Neonates with low birth weight and APGAR scores < 7 at 1 and 5 minutes were more likely to be hypothermic. The dry season was found to be protective against hypothermia when compared to the rainy season. The overall mortality rate was 13.68% and the mortality in the subgroup with hypothermia at presentation was 18.87%. Our study documented a high prevalence of hypothermia with higher rates in neonates requiring intervention at birth. It is therefore crucial for perinatal care providers to adhere to the warm chain precautions around the time of birth.
新生儿低体温是指新生儿腋温<36.5°C,在新生儿重症监护病房中很常见,几乎存在于世界上所有地理和气候区域。尽管环境温度是导致其发生的已知危险因素,但情况仍如此。我们在塔马利教学医院(TTH)的新生儿重症监护病房进行了一项回顾性研究,记录了在医院就诊时与低体温相关的患病率和危险因素。该研究的时间跨度为 2019 年 1 月至 2019 年 12 月,涉及所有入院时记录腋温的新生儿。本研究中新生儿低体温的患病率为 54.76%。患有胎粪吸入综合征(87/105,82.86%)、早产和低出生体重(575/702,81.91%)以及出生窒息(347/445,77.98%)的新生儿低体温最为常见。与剖宫产分娩的新生儿相比,阴道分娩的新生儿发生低体温的可能性较小。与在 TTH 分娩的新生儿相比,在家中分娩的新生儿体温过低的可能性高 3.2 倍。出生体重低和 1 分钟和 5 分钟时 APGAR 评分<7 的新生儿更容易发生低体温。与雨季相比,旱季可预防低体温。总体死亡率为 13.68%,就诊时体温过低的亚组死亡率为 18.87%。我们的研究记录了高患病率的低体温,且在出生时需要干预的新生儿中发生率更高。因此,围产期保健提供者在分娩前后必须遵守暖链预防措施。