Prevalence of Hypocalcemia and Associated Factors in Premature Infants in Jiroft

Hypocalcemia is one of the most common neonatal disorders that has a good prognosis if treated promptly and diagnosed correctly. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hypocalcemia and associated factors in premature infants in Jiroft, southeastern Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, the cases of infants born in the spring and summer of 2019 in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Jiroft, southeastern Iran, were examined by the census method. The required information was extracted from the infants' files and entered into SPSS24 software for analysis.

Based on the results of the study, out of 78 hypocalcemic premature neonates admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital, 42 (53.8%) were boys and 36 (46.2%) were girls. Thirty-six (46.2%) infants had a birth weight of between 1,500 and 2,000 g, and 42 (35.8%) infants were born between 35 and 37 weeks of age. Most preterm infants (60.3%) had a diabetic mother. Moreover, the number of female preterm hypocalcemic infants with a weight of 2,000 to 2,500 g was higher than their male counterparts.

The results of this study indicated that prematurity, weight less than 2,000 g, and maternal diabetes were the factors affecting hypocalcemia in preterm infants that should be considered in public health programs.