TITLE:
Survival and Determinants of Mortality among Extremely Low Birth Weight Newborns in a Tertiary Hospital in Burkina Faso
AUTHORS:
Chantal Zoungrana Ouattara, Aissa Dembélé, Rolande Kaboré, Oumarou Sawadogo, Roselyne Ouattara, Flore Ouédraogo, Angèle Kalmogho, Caroline Yonaba, Fla Kouéta
KEYWORDS:
Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants, Neonatal Mortality, Prematurity, Survival Analysis, Low-Resource Setting, Burkina Faso
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.16 No.3,
March
30,
2026
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Neonatal mortality remains a major global public health challenge. Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) newborns (Methods: A retrospective analytical cohort study was conducted in the neonatal unit of Yalgado Ouédraogo University Hospital between October 2021 and September 2024. All newborns with a birth weight Results: A total of 110 ELBW newborns were included. The mean birth weight was 810 g (range 500 - 990 g) and the mean gestational age was 29 weeks (22 - 34 weeks). Overall hospital mortality was 71%. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed survival probabilities of 72% at 24 hours, 48% at 7 days, and 29% at 28 days. The median survival time was 4 days. Independent factors associated with mortality were male sex (OR 3.92 [1.34 - 11.49]), respiratory distress (OR 3.39 [1.14 - 10.04]), while birth weight ≥900 g was associated with improved survival (OR 0.20 [0.05 - 0.87]). Conclusion: Survival among ELBW newborns remains extremely limited in this resource-constrained setting. Strengthening perinatal care, early respiratory support, and neonatal intensive care capacities is essential to improve outcomes.