BACKGROUND : The low birth babies especially weighing less than 2000 gms admitted at NICU are more at risk for morbidity & mortality during the first year of life after discharged from the NICU due to social, cultural, economic, familial, maternal factors, length of stay etc.
OBJECTIVE : To assess the ‘longevity’ of low birth weight NICU discharged babies at secondary level of care institutions in Mayiladuthurai district till their first year of life.
METHODS : A Retrospective study was conducted using purposive sampling and the study setting was Hospitals (secondary level of care institutions in Mayiladuthurai GH & Sirkali GH) and Community (Data from the obstetrical records and immunization records). Sample size was 102. Data were collected and analyzed using the Descriptive and Inferential Statistics such as percentage and chi square.
RESULTS : The study shows that 98 were alive and there is a significant association between the Duration of stay, Readmission after NICU discharge, Immunisation with Hepatitis B vaccine, Immunisation with all vaccines up to the age and the Longevity of the NICU discharged babies. There was a significant association between the Duration of Stay at NICU, Readmission after discharge from NICU, Immunisation status with Hepatitis B vaccine, Immunisation status with all vaccines (Except Hepatitis B) up to the age and the Longevity of the NICU discharge babies. But there was no significant association between the Maternal Age, High-Risk status of the mother, Nature of Birth, Gestational Age at Birth, Birth Weight of the baby, Sex of the Baby and the Longevity of the NICU discharge babies.
CONCLUSION : The study reveals that the longevity of NICU discharged low birth weight babies for the period of one year after birth was high (96.1%) than the mortality (3.9%). There was association between the longevity and the duration of stay at NICU, Readmission after NICU discharge, Immunisation status of the NISU discharged babies. There was no significant association between the longevity and the maternal age, High-Risk status of the mother, Nature of birth, Gestational age at birth, Birth weight and the Sex of the NICU discharged babies.