METHODS: In 2021, a customized 6-item online survey on resuscitation practices of infants born at <29 weeks gestation (or birth weight <1,200 g) was sent by the representative of each country's neonatal network to all the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) participating in AsianNeo network. At the time of the survey, there were 446 participating hospitals in eight countries: four high-income countries (Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) and four low-middle-income countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand).
RESULTS: The study included 446 hospitals, with a response rate of 72.6% (ranging from 62.7% to 100%), with 179 (55.2%) in HICs and 145 (44.7%) in LMICs. Routine attendance of experienced NICU physicians during resuscitations is reported to be higher in HICs than LMICs, both during daytime (79% vs. 40%) and nighttime (62% vs. 23%). The NRP guidelines in each country were varied, with 4 out of 8 countries using indigenously developed guidelines. Equipment availability during resuscitation was also variable; saturation monitors, radiant warmers, and plastic wraps were available in almost all hospitals, whereas oxygen and air blenders, heated humidified gas, and end-tidal CO2 detectors were more available in HICs. The most common device for Positive Pressure Ventilation (PPV) was the T-piece resuscitator (52.3%).
CONCLUSION: The neonatal resuscitation practices for extremely preterm infants, encompassing staff, equipment, and guidelines, exhibited variance between HICs and LMICs in the AsianNeo region. Further enhancements are imperative to narrow this gap and optimize neonatal outcomes.
METHODS: AsianNeo performed a cross-sectional international questionnaire survey in 2022 to assess the human and physical resources of hospitals and clinical management of very preterm infants. The survey covered various aspects of hospitals resources and clinical management, and data were collected from 337 hospitals across Asia. The data collected were used to compare hospitals resources and clinical management of preterm infants between areas and economic status.
RESULTS: The policy of PDA management for preterm infants varied across Asian countries in AsianNeo. Hospitals in Northeast Asia were more likely to perform PDA ligation (p
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Currently, AsianNeo comprises nine neonatal networks from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. AsianNeo will undertake the following four studies: (1) institutional questionnaire surveys investigating neonatal intensive care unit resources and the clinical management of sick newborn infants, with a focus on VLBW infants (nine countries/regions); (2) a retrospective cohort study to describe and compare the outcomes of VLBW infants among Asian countries and regions (four countries/regions); (3) a prospective cohort study to develop the AsianNeo registry of VLBW infants (six countries/regions); and (4) implementation and evaluation of educational and quality improvement projects in AsianNeo countries and regions (nine countries/regions).
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Board of the National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan (reference number 2020-244, 2022-156). The study findings will be disseminated through educational programmes, quality improvement activities, conference presentations and medical journal publications.