Abstract
BACKGROUND: The first week after birth is the high-risk time for neonatal death. Early neonatal mortality is still a major global health problem, particularly in sub-Saharan African nations like Ethiopia. Most neonatal deaths (about 75%) occur within the first seven days of life. Still, there is limited evidence on survival status and predictors that may determine when a neonate dies in the early days of life in the study area. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to assess survival status and predictors of early neonatal mortality for neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units in the study area, 2023. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in four randomly selected public hospitals from January 1-2022 to January 1-2023 on 375 randomly selected neonatal data charts. The data were collected through document review and checklists using conventional random selection approaches. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS version 26.0. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve with a log-rank test was applied to compare the survival rates between groups. Bivariable and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were conducted to identify the predictors of early neonatal mortality. The assumptions of the model were verified. RESULTS: A total of 375 eligible neonates were studied and the incidence rate of 37.1 deaths per 1000 live births was found (95% CI: 25.5, 40.9), with 75 of them (20%) died. Premature birth [AHR: 4 (95% CI: 1.234, 5.80)], pre-eclampsia [AHR: 2.4 (95% CI: 1.16, 4.98)], fifth-minute Apgar score [AHR: 3.93 (95% CI: 1.76, 8.77)], not initiating exclusive breastfeeding [AHR: 3.69 (95% CI: 1.14, 9.02)], and low birth weight [AHR: 2.01 (95% CI; 1.28, 3.43) were found to be the independent predictors of early neonatal mortality. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: High early neonatal mortality is observed in the study area. Gestational age, pre-eclampsia, 5th min Apgar score, not initiating exclusive breastfeeding, and low birth weight were independent predictors of early neonatal death. We recommend that proactive care for a neonate with a low Apgar score, who is not breastfeeding, is premature, has a low birth weight, and is born from a mother who has pregnancy-induced hypertension is very important.