Prevalence and factors associated with neonatal acute respiratory distress syndrome among neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care units of Gurage zone public hospital, South West Ethiopia

Background: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is the leading cause of respiratory failure and death of a neonate in today's world, especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. Methods: We used an institutional-based cross-sectional study in the selected hospitals of the Gurage zone admitted from June 2019 to June 2021. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered into Epi data 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Result: The prevalence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in the study area was 45.1%. The odds of RDS in neonates from mothers with gestational age between 35 &37 were 3.99 times higher compared to term gestation. The odds of RDS among neonates with jaundice and sepsis are 4.33- and 1.92-times higher odds compared to their counterparts. The odds of RDS in neonates born via Caesarean section were 1.7 times higher compared with those delivered via spontaneous and instrumental delivery. RDS was also higher in neonates born to mothers <20 years of age and >=35 years old. Conclusion: the prevalence of RDS in the study area was high. Thus, healthcare providers should act on those factors with appropriate follow-up for early detection of the problem and prevent the risk. Keywords: Respiratory distress syndrome; neonate.