Fatores associados à Infecção Neonatal Precoce: A Importância o contato pele a pele.

Abstract

Objective: To identify factors associated with early neonatal infection in a maternity ward with standard risk and demonstrate the importance of skin-to-skin contact in neonatal practices. Method: This is an observational epidemiological study with a cross-sectional and analytical design. After approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Universidade Tiradentes under registration CAAE 37215820.6.0000.5371, a review of medical records of newborns admitted to the Intermediate Care Unit, Kangaroo Intermediate Care Unit, and/or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a public maternity hospital in Sergipe from 2017 to 2020 was conducted. Variables related to childbirth and hospitalization were assessed. Results: The frequency of early neonatal sepsis (ENS) was 46%, with 729 diagnoses in 1,636 admissions, 1.8% of cases confirmed by blood culture, and the rest through clinical diagnosis. The two main reasons for admission were respiratory distress and other pulmonary causes (22%) and syphilis (14.3%). There was a higher frequency of ENS among males with 408 (56.3%) cases. After logistic regression, skin-to-skin contact was identified as a factor associated with ENS, with its practice in the delivery room reducing the chances of early neonatal sepsis in a newborn by 18%. Conclusions: A simple and safe practice, such as skin-to-skin contact, can have a significant impact on reducing one of the main issues in Neonatal Intensive Care Units