Abstract:
Neonatal sepsis is yet one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality around the
globe. Lower- and middle-income countries are the largest sufferer of the problem. Particularly
countries in Sub Saharan Africa are suffering from unchecked magnitude of the problem where
Ethiopia is not an exception. Failure to control the problem will leads to high neonatal mortality,
short- and long-term complications and economic burden on the countries. Even though the
magnitude of neonatal sepsis and its predictors are studied in different part of Ethiopia, the
influence of factors like Maternal history of Anemia, chlorohexidine cord care are not studied
yet and specific to the study area the magnitude of neonatal sepsis is unknown.
Objective: To assess the magnitude and predictors of neonatal sepsis among neonates admitted
to neonatal intensive care unit of public hospitals of Dire Dawa and Harar cities, Eastern
Ethiopia, from June 20 to August 20, 2021.
Method: Institutional based cross-sectional study was employed as the main study design. Four
Hundred twenty-one (421) neonates with their index mother were studied. Data were collected
from mothers by using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and from neonatal medical
charts with check-list. Eight data collectors and two supervisors were recruited. The collected
data were entered in to Epi data version 4.6 and then exported to SPSS window version 20 for
analysis. Descriptive anylysis was performed. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were done to
identify the association between independent variables and outcome variable.
Results: Magnitude of neonatal sepsis was 25.7% (95% CI: 21.8, 30.1). Neonates who were
born with caesarean section [AOR=2.135, 95% CI (1.045,4.359)], neonates born to mothers who
had history of urinary tract infection [AOR=3.088, 95% CI (1.735,5.496)], not received
chlorhexidine cord care [AOR=4.195, 95% CI (2.362,7.449)] and bottle feeding [AOR=2.619,
95% CI (1.433,4.788)] were factors significantly associated with neonatal sepsis.
Conclusion and recommendation: The magnitude of neonatal sepsis was moderately lower
compared to other studies. Caesarean section delivery, urinary tract infection (UTI),
chlorhexidine cord care and bottle feeding were independent factors. Since neonatal sepsis is
one of often preventable disease, it can be reduced further to its lower level.
