Sepsis, extreme prematurity, retarded intrauterine growth or low weight (CIUR) are among the causes of death of eight newborns admitted to the Diez de Octubre Gynecology and Obstetric Hospital in Havana, and of which the Ministry of Public Health reported ( Minsap) this week.
“Since January 11, given the clinical suspicion, deterioration and subsequent death of a baby with presumptive signs of sepsis, associated with risk factors, and which made these children more vulnerable, measures began to be taken that allowed us to identify other cases in the service pointed to website cubadebate Dr. Yaima Rodríguez Espinosa, a first-degree specialist in pediatrics and head of the maternal-infant section of Havana at said center.
The specialist commented that “not all deaths were related to this sepsis event, which is being investigated today to determine exactly what happened.” Some had been treated in intensive care for more than 20 days for their health conditions.
Four of them died due to extreme prematurity and CIUR. From birth they went directly from the delivery room to the neonatal intensive care unit, according to this report.
“Another case was a 29-week-old baby weighing just 1,100 grams (his mother is a critical mother who arrived at the hospital with severe eclampsia), before which we proceeded to terminate the pregnancy for the benefit of the mother. We knew from the beginning that we were facing a heroic act if we managed to save his life,” said the specialist.
According to Rodríguez Espinosa, the more “intensive care” patients require, the more risk they run, since pneumonia associated with mechanical ventilation appears. “That is a healthcare-associated infection. Because intrahospital germs exist, so we try to shorten the time with intensive care and have favorable results”.
Given this circumstance, they reinforced the medical and nursing staff in the service, as well as samples were taken from all neonatology children, regardless of whether they were in the cubicle in question or not.
After having analyzed these samples at the Eusebio Hernández hospital and the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine (IPK), they assure that “all the children who are currently in the neonatology are asymptomatic.”
We inform the population that, in the course of this month of January, at the Diez de Octubre Gynecology and Obstetric Hospital, in the province of Havana, eight newborns with low birth weight and prematurity have unfortunately died.
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— Ministry of Public Health of Cuba (@MINSAPCuba) January 17, 2023
The specialist commented that, despite the serious economic crisis that is hitting the Island and considerably the health system, they had medical and non-medical insurance for the neonatology service, a priority of the Maternal and Child Program (PAMI).
But, the statistics show that at the end of January 15, 2023 the rate of low birth weight; at least in Havana it was 8.04 per 1,000 live births, higher than that of the same date in 2022 (7.95).
“It is an indicator that refuses to decrease and which is influenced, in addition to hypertension, by a history of previous preeclampsia, unfavorable maternal conditions, eating habits, obesity, pregnancy in adolescence, the consumption of tobacco or other substances and malnutrition…”, explained Rodríguez Espinosa to the journalists of the aforementioned official media.
They investigate the death of eight newborns in a Havana hospital
The report argues that in Cuba more than 17% of births correspond to women under 20 years of age and the number is growing significantly in some provinces of the country. Frequently, the babies of adolescent mothers are underweight and premature children, according to the statistics handled by the media.
The Diez de Octubre Gynecology and Obstetric Hospital, according to CubaDebate, is the second largest maternity hospital in Cuba. They carry out around 5,000 deliveries a year and last year they closed with 4,800. This center provides medical care to seven of the 15 municipalities of Havana.
A National Commission of the Ministry of Public Health maintains an investigation underway to determine the exact cause and circumstances of these eight deaths.
