| Effect of Puerperal Infections on Early Neonatal Mortality: A Secondary Analysis of Six Demographic and Health Surveys |
| Authors: |
Bellizzi, Saverio; Bassat, Quique; Ali, Mohamed M.; Sobel, Howard L.; and Temmerman, Marleen |
| Source: |
PLOS ONE , 12(1): e0170856; doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0170856 |
| Topic(s): |
Neonatal mortality
|
| Country: |
Asia
Multiple Asian Countries
More than one region
Multiple Regions
Latin American/Caribbean
Multiple L.A./Caribbean Countries
Asia
Indonesia
Philippines
Latin American/Caribbean
Colombia
Peru
Asia
Bangladesh
Latin American/Caribbean
Honduras
|
| Published: |
JAN 2017 |
| Abstract: |
Background
Around 1.5 million annual neonatal deaths occur in the first week of life, and infections represent one of the major causes in developing countries. Neonatal sepsis is often strictly connected to infection of the maternal genital tract during labour.
Methods
The association between signs suggestive of puerperal infection and early neonatal mortality (<7 days of life) was performed using Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data of six countries, conducted between 2010 and 2013. The population attributable fraction (PAF) was generated using the estimates on early neonatal mortality of a 1990–2013 systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study.
Results
Signs of puerperal infection ranged from 0.7% in the Philippines to 16.4% in Honduras. Infection was associated with a 2.1 adjusted Risk Ratio (95% CI: 1.4–3.2) of early neonatal mortality. Around five percent of all deaths in the first week of life were attributable to signs suggestive of puerperal infections and varied from 13.9% (95% CI: 1.0–26.6) in Honduras to 3.6% (95% CI: 1.0–8.5) in Indonesia.
Conclusions
Targeted interventions should be addressed to contain the burden of puerperal infections on early neonatal mortality. Consideration of the PAF will help in the discussion of the benefits of antenatal and perinatal measures. |
| Web: |
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0170856 |