• Mountasser Al-Mouqdad, Adli Abdelrahim, Nabeel Abdullah Alodhaidan, Haider Hussein Sumaily, Thanaa Mustafa Khalil, Yasmeen Asfour, and Suzan Suhail Asfour.
• From the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Hospital of Pediatrics, King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Ann Saudi Med. 2020 Jul 1; 40 (4): 290297290-297.

BackgroundPremature non-Saudi infants comprise a significant proportion of neonatal intensive care unit admissions in Saudi Arabia. Any differences in antenatal care of mothers and neonatal outcomes compared with premature Saudi infants are unreported.ObjectiveAssess antenatal care of mothers and neonatal outcomes among premature Saudi and non-Saudi infants, and investigate possible reasons for disparities.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingTertiary care center in Riyadh.Patients And MethodsAll neonates of gestational age ≤32 weeks and birthweight <1500 g admitted from 2015 to 2019 were included.Main Outcome MeasuresAntenatal care of mothers and rates of neonatal mortality and morbidity in premature Saudi and non-Saudi infants.Sample Size755 premature infants, 437 (57.9%) Saudi, 318 (42.1%) non-Saudi.ResultsSaudi mothers received more antenatal steroids and were more likely to have gestational diabetes mellitus (P=.01 and .03, respectively). Non-Saudi mothers were more likely to have pregnancy-induced hypertension (P=.01). Non-Saudi infants had significantly higher rates of intraventricular hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary hemorrhage, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and necrotizing enterocolitis compared with Saudi infants (P=.03, <.001, .04, .002, and <.001, respectively). There were no significant differences in mortality rate, early-onset sepsis, and late-onset sepsis between Saudi and non-Saudi infants (P=.81, .81, and .12, respectively).ConclusionsDisparities exist in the antenatal care of Saudi and non-Saudi women and in the neonatal morbidities of their premature infants. There was no difference in the neonatal mortality rate. More quality improvement initiatives are required to reduce differences in antenatal and neonatal outcomes.LimitationsRetrospective, socioeconomic disparities not identified.Conflict Of InterestNone.

29 keywords...

hide…