Abstract:
Objective: To review admissions and deaths at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Korle Bu Teaching
Hospital (KBTH), Ghana from 2011 to 2015, for the purposes of documentation of outcomes and identification of
areas for improvement.
Design: A retrospective descriptive study of NICU Admissions & Discharges from 2011 to 2015. All data in the
NICU Admissions & Discharge books were transferred into a spreadsheet and analysed.
Setting – The NICU of KBTH provides secondary and tertiary care for premature and critically ill term babies in the
southern half of Ghana.
Results: Over the 5-year period, 9213 babies were admitted to the NICU. Admission weights ranged from 300 to
6700g with median of 2400g. Overall mortality rate was 19.2%. Mortality rates were progressively and significantly
higher in babies with lower admission weights and earlier gestations.
Conclusions: We report a high NICU mortality rate of 19.2%, compared to the worldwide range of 3.1% to 29%.
This wide range of outcomes is attributable to differences in the severity of illness of patients and to the organisation
of resources devoted to obstetric and neonatal care. To substantially improve perinatal and neonatal outcomes, there
is a need for wider coverage and better quality of health care; and to consider rationing of care. Complex interventions
are necessary to improve outcomes, not just an increase in the allocation of particular resources.
