Polycythemia in the newborn: prevalence and associated factors. Original Research

Abstract

Introduction: Polycythemia affects 1 to 5% of newborns; it is associated with complications due to organic and systemic involvement in the newborn that can be preventable. This research aimed to determine the prevalence of neonatal polycythemia and its associated factors in newborns in a public maternity service in the city of Cuenca-Ecuador.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, including all newborns in the maternity service of the Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital. The sample was probabilistic of 470 neonates and their mothers. To identify an association, we used X², and to measure association intensity, OR (95% CI) and P-value < 0.05.

Results: Four-hundred-seventy cases were randomly entered into the study. A prevalence of 12.8% was obtained. The 93% maternal residence was above 2000 meters above sea level. The associated factors were: low birth weight (OR 3.8; 95% CI: 1.9 - 7.5) P < 0.001, maternal pathology including diabetes (OR 2.6, 95% CI: 1.3–5.2) P = 0.013, pregnancy toxemia (OR 2.3; 95% CI: 0.7–7.6) P = 0.134, and negative association with prematurity (OR 0.3; 95% CI: 0.07–1.2) P = 0.099.

Conclusions: The prevalence of neonatal polycythemia is high and significantly associated with low birth weight and maternal pathology.