Shabih Manzar, Arun K Nair, Mangalore G Pai, Saleh M Al Khusaiby.
Pulmonary hypertension in Neonates: does the cause influence the outcome?.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;14(10):612-4.

Objective: To determine the influence of the cause of pulmonary hypertension in neonates on overall outcome. Design: Analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Royal Hospital in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, from July 1998 to June 2003. Patients and Methods: All neonates with the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension, based on history, clinical examination and 2-D echocardiogram were reviewed with respect to the cause of hypertension (primary or secondary), birth weight, Apgar score, gender, inborn/ outborn and outcome. According to the outcome, neonates were divided into two groups, group A (survived) and group B (expired). Both groups were compared for described variables using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 7.5 for Windows and Epi Info version 6. Results: Out of 37 neonates with pulmonary hypertension, Group A comprised of 22 neonates while group B had 15 neonates, giving a mortality of 40 % (15/37). The mean birth weight between the two groups showed no significant differences, 3088 ± 479 gram and 2962 ± 454 gram, p =0.42, respectively. Similarly, no difference in the one and five Apgar scores were noted, 4.9 ± 2.1 and 4.7 ± 1.3, p = 0.73 and 7.4 ± 1.5 and 6.7 ± 1.4, p = 0.16, respectively. The place of birth had also no significant influence on the outcome, however, the cause of pulmonary hypertension was noted to be significantly associated with the outcome, p=0.004. Conclusion: The cause of pulmonary hypertension in neonates does influence the survival. Primary pulmonary hypertension in neonates was noted to be associated with poor outcome as compared to secondary pulmonary hypertension.

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