and sepsis. Intervention through preventive measures has managed
to reduce up to 67% of neonatal
mortality. In Mexico,4 2 271 700 deaths were
registered in 2003; 20 806 of those
deaths occurred during the neonatal
period; 49.4% of them were associated
to asphyxia. Detection of critically ill newborn
infants offers the possibility of a timely treatment that would have a direct impact on survival and
decrease morbidity. Prognostic scales
are useful for physicians working in
neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
There are scales or scores used at an
international level:5 SNAPPE6 (Score
for Neonatal Acute Physiology Perinatal
Extension), CRIB II7 (Clinical Risk Index
for Babies Score) and NEOCOSUR
(Neonatal del Cono Sur).8 They are
mostly used in premature infants
weighing under 1500 g.
T h i s s t u d y p r o p o s e s t h e
development and validation of a
score to predict mortality in critically
ill newborn infants, without excluding
those weighing above 1500 g, based
on the inclusion of new prognostic
factors.