The cause-specific morbidity and mortality, and referral patterns of all neonates admitted to a tertiary referral hospital in the northern provinces of Vietnam over a one year period.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the cause-specific morbidity and mortality, and referral patterns of all neonates admitted to a tertiary referral hospital in the northern provinces of Vietnam. DESIGN: A prospective hospital based observational study. SETTING: The Neonatal Department, National Hospital of Pediatrics, Hanoi, Vietnam. PATIENTS: All admissions to the Neonatal Department over a 12 month period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cause-specific morbidity and mortality; deaths. RESULTS: There were 5064 admissions with the commonest discharge diagnoses being infection (32%) and prematurity (29%). The case fatality ratio (CFR) was 13.9% (n = 703). Infection (38%), cardio/respiratory disorders (27%), congenital abnormalities (20%) and neurological conditions (10%) were the main causes of death. Of all the deaths, 38% had an admission weight ≥2500g. Higher CFR were associated with lower admission weights. Very few deaths (3%) occurred in the first 24 hours of life. Most referrals and deaths came from Hanoi and neighbouring provincial hospitals, with few from the most distant provinces. Two distant referral provinces had the highest CFR. CONCLUSIONS: The CFR was high and few deaths occurred in neonates <24 hours old. The high rates of infection call for an improvement in infection control practices and peripartum antibiotic use at provincial and tertiary level. Understanding provincial hospital capacity and referral pathways is crucial to improving the outcomes at tertiary centres. A quality of care audit tool would enable more targeted interventions and monitoring of health outcomes.

Characterizing HIV manifestations and treatment outcomes of perinatally infected adolescents in Asia.

BACKGROUND: More perinatally HIV-infected children in Asia are reaching adolescence. METHODS: We analyzed data from July 1991 to March 2011 reported by 18 clinics in 6 countries of children age >12 years. RESULTS: Of 1254 adolescents, 33 (2.6%) died, and 52 (4.1%) were lost to follow-up within 2.4-year (3566 person-years) median follow-up period. Of 1061 adolescents under active follow-up, 485 (46%) were male, median (interquartile range) age was 14.7 (13.3-16.4) years, 73% had lost a parent(s), 93% attended school and 62% were aware of their HIV status. At the most recent evaluation, 93% were receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy, 71% (N = 737/1035) had CD4 ≥ 500 cells/mm(3) and 87% (N = 718/830) had viral load (VL) <400 copies/mL. Current CD4 ≥ 200 cells/mm(3), no previous World Health Organization stage 3 or 4 and being on a first-line regimen were independently associated with recent VL <400 copies/mL. Current age <15 years, VL <400 copies/mL, CD4 15-24% (vs. <10%) at antiretroviral therapy initiation, no previous World Health Organization stage 3 or 4 and antiretroviral therapy duration of ≥ 1 year were associated with recent CD4 ≥ 500 cells/mm(3). Primary causes of death after age 12 were opportunistic infections (N = 15/33) and other AIDS- or treatment-related conditions (N = 9/33). Those at age 12 with CD4 <200 versus ≥ 500 cells/mm and those with VL ≥ 10,000 versus <10,000 copies/mL were 17.4 and 4.76 times more likely to die in adolescence, respectively. CONCLUSION: Adolescents in this cohort have been successfully maintained in HIV care. Initiating treatment at earlier stages of disease was associated with immune recovery and virologic suppression during adolescence.