Summary:
Very low birth weight (VLBW) premature infants are at
increased risk of morbidity and mortality, mainly due to
infections and complications of prematurity. The present
article is a descriptive analysis of the most common
reasons for hospital admission of VLBW infants,
morbidity during hospital stay, and their immediate
outcome at a community level medical college hospital in
Bangladesh. Sixty VLBW neonates (< 1,500 grams
weight), 37 males and 23 females, < 72 hours of age were
enrolled prospectively from March 2005 to February
2007; 4 babies were excluded. Thirty-four babies were
hospital born and 26 home delivered cases admitted
postnatally. The mean birth weight and gestational age of
the newborns were 1270 ± 169 grams and 30.9 ± 2.9 weeks
respectively. Forty-one of 60 cases (68.3%) mothers
received at least one antenatal care visit. Common clinical