Epidemio-Clinical Profile of Newborns Transfereed to University Clinics of Kinshasa and Poor Prognosis Factors

Author(s): Onésime KAMOLO MBAKALANGA*, Thérèse BISELELE BAKABUMVUA, Francine MASSAY MABENGANA

Introduction: Neonatal mortality remains high in our environment and several factors contribute to this increase, notably transfer conditions. The objective was to study the conditions of transfer of newborns in Kinshasa in order to reveal the inadequacies and thus assess their impact on neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Method: This is a cross-sectional and analytical study which took place from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 in the neonatology department of the University Clinics of Kinshasa (CUK) having included all newborns referred by a health structure.

Results: Of 180 newborns enrolled in this study, 46.1% were transferred the same day of birth, the most used means of transport was the motorcycle taxi (32.2%). The main reasons for transfer were prematurity (22.2%), respiratory distress (19.4%) and congenital malformations (17.2). The majority of newborns (91.1%) were accompanied by single parents. On admission, 40.6% of newborns had respiratory distress; 38.3% had presented desaturation; hypothermia was found in 17.8%. The lethality was 46.7%. The factors associated with mortality were age greater than 7 days at the time of transfer, use of a motorcycle taxi, extreme prematurity, congenital malformations, respiratory distress requiring emergency resuscitation.

Conclusion: Transfers of newborns take place in poor conditions in our environment, which contributes to the increase in neonatal morbidity and mortality. Improving the transfer system will contribute to reducing this mortality.