Time to recovery and its predictors among neonates admitted with respiratory distress at northwest Amhara comprehensive specialized hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit ward, northwest Ethiopia, 2023. A prospective follow-up study

Time to recovery and its predictors among neonates admitted with respiratory distress at northwest Amhara comprehensive specialized hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit ward, northwest Ethiopia, 2023. A prospective follow-up study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Time to recovery and its predictors among neonates admitted with respiratory distress at northwest Amhara comprehensive specialized hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit ward, northwest Ethiopia, 2023. A prospective follow-up study Meseret Teshome Bogale, Chalachew Adugna Wubneh, Tizita Gebeyehu Demssie This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6195896/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Introduction: Respiratory distress is the most common reason of admission in neonatal intensive care unit. There is also a challenge on recovery time especially in middle- and low-income countries. Apart from this, there are limited studies to assess the time to recovery and its predictors among neonates with respiratory distress in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the time to recovery and its predictors in neonates admitted with respiratory distress at NICU in to comprehensive specialized hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A prospective follow-up study was conducted from April 11 to May 25, 2023, and a systematic random sampling technique was used to select 615 study participants. Data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6.0.2 and exported to STATA version 17 for analysis. The Kaplan-Meier test and log-rank test were used to estimate and compare the survival time. The appropriate model for the data was selected according to AIC, and Weibull regression was chosen. Finally, the adjusted hazard ratio was calculated with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI), and variables with a P- value < 0.05 were statistically significant predictor variables. Result: A total of 603 neonates were enrolled in this study, of which 446 (73.96%) recovered with a median recovery time of 9 days (interquartile range 5-13 days). Predictors affecting recovery time were prolonged labor (AHR=0.66; 95% CI: 0.46–0.93), sepsis (AHR=0.73; 95% CI: 0.57–0.95), low birth weight (AHR=0.47; 95% CI: 0.35-0.63), very low birth weight (AHR=0.15; 95% CI: 0.08-0.27) and CPAP (AHR=1.44; 95% CI: 1.07-1.96). Conclusion and recommendation : The median overall time to recovery from respiratory distress was slower in this study compared with other studies. Sepsis, low birth weight, very low birth weight, CPAP, and mother who had prolonged labor history were found to be statistically significant variables. To shorten recovery time, special attention should be paid to neonates born from prolonged labor history, having sepsis, low birth weight, and very low birth weight. In addition, recovery time can also be shortened by promoting CPAP use. Health sciences/Diseases Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Medical research Health sciences/Risk factors Respiratory Distress Time to recovery Neonatal intensive care unit NICU Predictor Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 23 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 01 Jul, 2025 Editor invited by journal 21 Mar, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 10 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6195896","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":611434889,"identity":"94dbea08-729a-448f-8559-737c9ab16bd9","order_by":0,"name":"Meseret Teshome Bogale","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCBIZ/PPxgRgHRWhIOyEk2gBgGxFtzwNjgAIhBjBbd9vbHHx7+uJO4+fzqxA8PDBjk+cUO4NdiduaMmURCwrPEbTfebpYAOsxw5uwEAlpu5LAB/cIM1HJ2A0hLgsFtQlruP3/8AaRl84yzm38Qp+UGgwHQYYeNDfh7txFpy5kcoF/S0uQkbvBus0gwkCDCL8ePP/74w8aGh7//7OabPyps5PmlCWhBAAmwSglilYMA/wFSVI+CUTAKRsFIAgDDa0pJ3IGvMAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gondar","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Meseret","middleName":"Teshome","lastName":"Bogale","suffix":""},{"id":611434890,"identity":"320255aa-0a15-4beb-b2fc-a2ef9e91276d","order_by":1,"name":"Chalachew Adugna Wubneh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gondar","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chalachew","middleName":"Adugna","lastName":"Wubneh","suffix":""},{"id":611434891,"identity":"5d921a47-603f-423a-bc81-94ed1b9b6638","order_by":2,"name":"Tizita Gebeyehu Demssie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gondar","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tizita","middleName":"Gebeyehu","lastName":"Demssie","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-10 13:23:09","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6195896/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6195896/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105566203,"identity":"23687703-8d68-4cb6-9d47-80a8fd62ca4d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:55:40","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":720302,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"messimanuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6195896/v1_covered_21b582e9-1a9f-4f4f-9a05-b5de6702bbb0.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Time to recovery and its predictors among neonates admitted with respiratory distress at northwest Amhara comprehensive specialized hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit ward, northwest Ethiopia, 2023. A prospective follow-up study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Respiratory Distress, Time to recovery, Neonatal intensive care unit, NICU, Predictor","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6195896/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6195896/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduction:\u003c/strong\u003eRespiratory distress is the most common reason of admission in neonatal intensive care unit. There is also a challenge on recovery time especially in middle- and low-income countries. Apart from this, there are limited studies to assess the time to recovery and its predictors among neonates with respiratory distress in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the time to recovery and its predictors in neonates admitted with respiratory distress at NICU in to comprehensive specialized hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003eA prospective follow-up study was conducted from April 11 to May 25, 2023, and a systematic random sampling technique was used to select 615 study participants. Data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6.0.2 and exported to STATA version 17 for analysis. The Kaplan-Meier test and log-rank test were used to estimate and compare the survival time. The appropriate model for the data was selected according to AIC, and Weibull regression was chosen. Finally, the adjusted hazard ratio was calculated with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI), and variables with a P- value \u0026lt; 0.05 were statistically significant predictor variables.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResult:\u003c/strong\u003eA total of 603 neonates were enrolled in this study, of which 446 (73.96%) recovered with a median recovery time of 9 days (interquartile range 5-13 days). Predictors affecting recovery time were prolonged labor (AHR=0.66; 95% CI: 0.46–0.93), sepsis (AHR=0.73; 95% CI: 0.57–0.95), low birth weight (AHR=0.47; 95% CI: 0.35-0.63), very low birth weight (AHR=0.15; 95% CI: 0.08-0.27) and CPAP (AHR=1.44; 95% CI: 1.07-1.96).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion and recommendation\u003c/strong\u003e: The median overall time to recovery from respiratory distress was slower in this study compared with other studies. Sepsis, low birth weight, very low birth weight, CPAP, and mother who had prolonged labor history were found to be statistically significant variables. To shorten recovery time, special attention should be paid to neonates born from prolonged labor history, having sepsis, low birth weight, and very low birth weight. In addition, recovery time can also be shortened by promoting CPAP use.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Time to recovery and its predictors among neonates admitted with respiratory distress at northwest Amhara comprehensive specialized hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit ward, northwest Ethiopia, 2023. 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