Causes and results of non-cardiac surgeries in newborns admitted to the NICU

Surgery is an important and life-saving health service that can treat many of the congenital anomalies. This study aimed to investigate the possible causes and outcomes of non-cardiac surgeries in newborns admitted to the neonatal invasive care unit (NICU) department of Be’sat Hospital in Hamadan during the period 2011 to 2017.

This study included all neonates (482 newborns) who were admitted to the NICU department of Be’sat hospital during the period 2011-2017 due to non-cardiac surgery, and had hospital records. The required information was extracted from their hospital records and the surgical outcomes and complications were analyzed with respect to other variables such as the gender, type of delivery, gestational age, birth weight, and disease.

According to our study results, 80.5% of the newborns had the gastrointestinal disease which was the most common cause of surgery found in this study. Moreover, imperforated anus (20.8%) and esophageal atresia (17.1%) were among the most common disorders. Esophageal atresia (33.9%) was detected to be the most common disease among the newborns who died during the course of the study. The results from the study showed that the outcome of surgery had statistically significant relationship with gender (P=0.011), type of breastfeeding/feeding (P<0.001), gestational age (P<0.001), and birth weight (P<0.001).

Fetal examinations during pregnancy and neonatal care immediately after birth were recommended for early diagnosis of esophageal atresia, diaphragmatic hernia, and imperforated anus. Since gender (male), breastfeeding, normal gestational age, and normal birth weight had a significantly positive effect on surgery outcome, higher quality care was also recommended for infants lacking these characteristics.