Why our neonates are dying? Pattern and outcome of admissions to neonatal units of tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar from January, 2009 to December, 2011.

Objective: To find out the frequency of neonatal mortality in tertiary care hospitals to determine the common causes.

Methods: The descriptive retrospective study was conducted in the Paediatric wards of Kuwait Teaching Hospital and Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, and comprised data from hospital registers from January, 2009 to December, 2011. A structured proforma was used as the data collection tool.

Results: There were 4497 neonatal admissions in both hospitals; 4067(90.4%) at Khyber and 430(9.5%) at Kuwait. Overall neonatal deaths were 726(16%); 703(17.2%) in Khyber and 22(5.1%) in Kuwait. Major causes of neonatal deaths were Multiple 341(48.50%), General 99(14%) and Infections 81(11.52%) at Khyber Teaching Hospital, whereas at Kuwait Teaching Hospital, they were Central Nervous System 8(36.30%), General 5(22.72%), and Infections 4(18.10%).

Conclusions: Increased awareness regarding timely referral to tertiary care hospitals is essential for the health workers who conduct deliveries at home, maternity homes, private hospitals and clinics.