Necessity of echocardiography in evaluation of neonates with respiratory distress admitted in NICU

Introduction : Respiratory distress is the most frequent cause of admission to the NICU. Immediate differentiation between cardiac and non-cardiac causes could influence the course of treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the necessity of echocardiography in evaluation of neonates with respiratory distress in NICU. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study recruited 349 neonates admitted to the NICU of Izadi and Hazrat-e-Masoumeh hospitals in the city of Qom in 2013 due to respiratory distress. Data was collected and analyzed by chi-square test and t-test in SPSS. Results: Sepsis was the most common cause of respiratory distress, among the extra-pulmonary causes which accounted for 15% of the causes of respiratory distress. Echocardiography was performed for 55.3% of neonates. Among cardiac causes of respiratory distress, large and very large PDAs (27.3%), large ventricular septal defect (22.7%) and dTGA (18.2%) were the most common causes. Gender of the infant, type of delivery, season of the birth, length of hospital stay and the 5-minute Apgar score were not significantly different among cardiac and non-cardiac causes, but gestational age and infant’s age at admission were significantly higher in babies with cardiac diseases.