Morbidity of Low Birth Weight Infants in Korea (2012): A Comparison with Japan and the USA.

Kim,  Tae Hyeong; Choi,  Mi Suk; Chung,  Sung Hoon; Choi,  Yong Sung; Bae,  Chong Woo

doi:2014.21.4.218

Neonatal Med > Volume 21(4); 2014 > Article

Original Article

Neonatal Medicine 2014;21(4):218-223.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5385/nm.2014.21.4.218 Published online November 30, 2014.

Morbidity of Low Birth Weight Infants in Korea (2012): A Comparison with Japan and the USA.

Tae Hyeong Kim, Mi Suk Choi, Sung Hoon Chung, Yong Sung Choi, Chong Woo Bae

Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. baecw@khnmc.or.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study aimed to identify the morbidity in very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) and low birth weight infants (LBWI) in Korea and compare these data with similar data from Japan and the USA.
METHODS
The analysis of morbidity in VLBWI in Korea was based on a 2012 survey of morbidity in LBWI in Korea. These findings were compared with the morbidity of VLBWI and LBWI in Japan and the USA.
RESULTS
Morbidities in LBWI included jaundice (58.5%), respiratory distress syndrome (RDS; 37.0%), apnea (22.2%), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA; 22.0%), and small for gestational age (SGA; 19.2%). The research findings concerning LBWI morbidity found, high prevalence rates for neonatal jaundice, RDS, PDA, SGA, apnea, and sepsis. Compared with VLBWI morbidity of Japan and the USA, intraventricular hemorrhage, RDS, PDA, and sepsis were more prevalent in Korea, whereas bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and retinopathy of prematurity occurred at similar frequencies in all 3 countries.
CONCLUSION
This study provides a recent nationwide summary of disease-specific morbidity in VLBWI and LBWI in Korea. Based on this study, future research and surveys are needed to identify the disease-specific mortality and survival rates in the field of neonatal intensive care.

Key Words: Epidemiology; Incidence; Morbidity; Low birth weight infant