Mortality rates of very low birth weight and very low gestational age newborns in Hungary. The EuroHOPE study

Introduction: Care provision for very low birth weight and very low gestational age newborns requires high level clinical preparedness. Appropriate care and care management reduce mortality. Aim: To present Hungarian and international outcomes and local regional differences characterizing neonatal care in 2006-2008, based on the results of the EuroHOPE study. Method: Hungarian data were created by linking the obstetrics registry with the financing database of the Health Insurance Fund. Resulting from peculiarities of these databases and clinically justified exclusions, 3562 newborns were included. Results: Hungarian risk-adjusted 365-day mortality rate was significantly higher than in most of the studied countries. Incidence of diseases correlated with higher mortality risk was highest in Hungary. Mortality in two Hungarian counties was worse than expected based on modelling, while it was better in one county. Conclusions: Systematic factors might cause these results. Relatively low usage rate of steroid prophylaxis in Hungary might contribute to unfavorable mortality figures. A common unique identifier would help database linkage.