Epidemiological aspects of prematurity in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: To assess the epidemiological characteristics of prematurity and survival rate in preterm infants diagnosed at a university hospital in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A retrospective study was carried out of 476 preterm infants who were admitted with the diagnosis of prematurity to King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, between June 2008 and 2013. Demographics, birth weight, and neonatal survival rate were analyzed.

Results: Four hundred and seventy-six preterm infants were admitted with a total prevalence of 7.5%. Descriptive analysis revealed 55% were males. Extremely preterm infants (less than 28 weeks' gestation) comprised 9% and very preterm infants (28 to less than 32 weeks' gestation) comprised 20%. Extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants (less than 1000 g) comprised 11%. One hundred and fifty-seven (32%) infants were small for gestational age. Out of the total number of ELBW infants, 58% of them were discharged. The overall mortality was 7.6%. The mortality rate of male infants was 53%. The survival to discharge according to gestational age ranged from 30-97.6%.

Conclusion: The estimated prevalence of preterm births in a university hospital in eastern province of Saudi Arabia, is consistent with various studies from different parts of the world.