Langhoff-Roos J, Larsen S, Basys V, Lindmark G, Badokynote M
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1998 Nov;105(11):1189-94. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1998.tb09973.x.
To analyse which subgroups of perinatal deaths contribute most to the perinatal mortality rate in Lithuania compared with Denmark/Sweden.
Comparison of all perinatal deaths in Denmark/Sweden 1991 and Lithuania 1993-1994 by the common Nordic-Baltic perinatal death classification, based on information from the medical records.
The doubled perinatal mortality in Lithuania compared with Denmark/Sweden is mainly explained by a threefold increase of intrapartum and two- to fivefold increase in neonatal deaths of nonmalformed infants. The higher rate of malformed infants is partly explained by a four times higher mortality from neural tube defects.
The use of a common perinatal death classification has identified categories mainly responsible for the higher rate of perinatal mortality, but further investigation of potentially avoidable factors requires further study.
