TITLE:
Factors Associated with Neonatal Sepsis: A Case Study at Chilenje General Hospital in the Neonatal Unit and Paediatric Wards
AUTHORS:
Godfridah Liholosi Monde, Catherine Ngoma, Mutinke Zulu, Michael Banda
KEYWORDS:
Neonatal, Sepsis, Factors, Maternal
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
31,
2024
ABSTRACT: Background: Neonatal sepsis is known to result in 26% of mortalities
in children below the age of five worldwide, countries in Sub-Saharan African recording
the highest deaths. Although the deaths of neonates have reduced world over up to
3.6 million counts, Chilenje General Hospital continues to register significant
numbers of neonatal sepsis. This study aimed at investigating the factors associated
with neonatal sepsis at Chilenje General Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. Methods: An institution based cross-sectional
study design was conducted at Chilenje General Hospital. Data were collected by
the use of a researcher designed questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 25.
Frequencies were used for descriptive analysis while bivariate analysis was used to establish association among
risk factors and outcome variables. Variables with significant association at 5%
level were further subjected to multivariate analysis at α ≤ 0.05. Results: The study showed that out of 156 neonates, 40.4%
(63/156) developed neonatal sepsis. Maternal factors that projected the incidence
of sepsis amongst neonates were distance to nearest health facility [AOR: 6.3 (95%
CI: 1.8 - 21.3), p = 0.003], occupation [AOR: 5.8 (95% CI: 1.2 - 27.6), p = 0.026],
number of antenatal visits [AOR: 6.3 (95% CI: 1.9 - 21.6), p = 0.003], number of
vaginal examinations [AOR: 10.8 (95% CI: 2.8 - 42), p = 0.001], and pregnancy induced
hypertension [AOR: 5.4 (95% CI: 1.4 - 20), p = 0.013]. Neonatal risk factor which
projected the incidence of sepsis was Neonate’s age [AOR: 18.8 (95% CI: 4.9 - 72.5),
p = 0.000]. Conclusions: The chance of developing neonatal sepsis was
strongly correlated with both mother and child variables, according to the study.
In order to lower the chance of the neonate acquiring sepsis, encouraging maternal
antenatal care use would assist to detect risk factors during prenatal, perinatal
and postnatal care and apply the proper therapies.