OBJECTIVE: To identify variables associated with mortality among very low birth weight infants admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil. METHODS: Cross-sectional study based on chart data of a random sample of premature newborn infants admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit from January 2007 to June 2010. Inborn infants weighing less than 1500g were eligible for the study. Maternal demographic variables, variables related to health conditions during pregnancy and delivery and variables related to newborn infants were collected. The association between variables was measured by chi-square test and Odds Ratio. Variables associated up to the level of 25% (p<0.25) in the bivariate analysis were included in the multivariate analysis by logistic regression, assuming a significance level of 5% (p<0.05). RESULTS: Data of 184 patients were analyzed, and 44 (23.9%) of them died. The variables that remained statistically associated with death in very low birth weight infants after the multivariate analysis were: birth weight below 1000g (OR 7.29; 95%CI 3.19 - 16.63; p<0.001), Apgar Score at the 1st minute <7 (OR 3.57; 95%CI 1.53 - 8.32, p=0.003), and report of less than four prenatal visits (OR 2.72; 95%CI 1.19 - 6.23, p=0.018). CONCLUSIONS: The results show gaps in prenatal care and the need for perinatal care improvement addressed to both mothers and infants.
neonatal mortality; infant, very low birth weight; infant, premature; Intensive Care Units
