ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1620077
Analysis of Risk Factors Contributing to Neonatal Pneumonia in Low Birth Weight Neonates
Provisionally accepted
- The First hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
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Objective: The current study aims to investigate the high-risk determinants associated with the occurrence of pneumonia in low birth weight (LBW) neonates.A retrospective case-control study was conducted at The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, a tertiary care center in Shijiazhuang, China, for neonates born between January 2019 and December 2023. From a cohort of 230 LBW neonates admitted to the NICU, 90 neonates diagnosed with pneumonia were designated as the observation group, while 50 LBW neonates without pneumonia were selected as the control group. Statistical hypothesis testing was employed for data analysis, including univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses.Results: Univariate analysis identified several significant risk factors for neonatal pneumonia, including low birth weight, prematurity (gestational age <37 weeks), small-for-gestational-age (SGA) status, neonatal anemia, patent ductus arteriosus, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, maternal hypothyroidism during pregnancy, and prenatal infection (P<0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis that included all significant univariate predictors revealed that birth weight (OR for <1600 g vs. ≥2200 g = 7.112, 95% CI: 1.650-30.651) and small-for-gestational-age status (OR=2.598, 95% CI: 1.152-5.859) remained as the sole independent risk factors for neonatal pneumonia in LBW neonates.Birth weight and small-for-gestational-age status are independent risk factors for neonatal pneumonia in low birth weight neonates. SGA neonates born at very early gestational ages (<32 weeks) represent a particularly high-risk subgroup.
Keywords: Neonatal pneumonia, low birth weight, Risk factors, Small-for-gestational-age, prematurity
Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 01 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Deng, Han, Wang, Huang and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yongmin Deng, The First hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
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