Hypoglycemia and associated factors in neonates A single-center observational study

Abstract

Introduction: Neonatal hypoglycemia (NH) is one of the most frequent metabolic pathologies in the neonatal period. It increases morbidity and mortality in the newborn and can leave permanent sequelae; however, it can be prevented, diagnosed, and treated early. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with neonatal hypoglycemia in newborns from the neonatology service at a Vicente Corral Moscoso public hospital in Cuenca-Ecuador.

Methods: This case-control study was conducted from January 2018 to December 2019. Matched by gestational age, sex, and maternal residence. Patients with NH entered the study during the first seven days of life, and the controls did not present NH. The sample was taken for convenience. The variables were gestational diabetes, uncontrolled type II diabetes mellitus, small for gestational age, macrosomal, respiratory distress syndrome, and intrauterine growth restriction. The association was quantified using the odds ratio with a confidence interval of 95%.

Results: A total of 101 cases and 202 controls were homogeneous in gestational age, sex, and maternal residence (P>0.05). The factors associated with statistically significant neonatal hypoglycemia were small for gestational age (OR 2.54; CI 1.54-4.20; P<0.001) and intrauterine growth restriction (OR 2.1; CI 1.29-3.54; P= 0.003), while gestational diabetes (OR 1.2; IC 0.37-4.88; P=0.649), macrosomia (OR 1.2; IC 0.28-5.1; P=0.800) and respiratory distress syndrome (OR 0.89; IC 0.54-1.47; P=0.672) were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Neonatal hypoglycemia is associated with factors such as intrauterine growth restriction and small for gestational age.