Neonatal sepsis and its predictors in Ethiopia: umbrella reviews of a systematic review and meta-analysis, 2023

Abstract

Background: Although neonatal sepsis is acknowledged as the primary cause of newborn death in Ethiopia, data on its impact at the national level are limited. Strong supporting data are required to demonstrate how this affects neonatal health. This umbrella study was conducted to determine the overall prevalence of newborn sepsis and its relationship with maternal and neonatal factors. Methods: This umbrella review included five articles from various databases. The AMSTAR-2 method was used to assess the quality of included systematic review and meta-analysis studies. STATA Version 18 software was used for statistical analysis. A random effects model was used to estimate the overall effects. Results: In this umbrella review, 9032 neonates with an outcome of interest were included. The overall pooled prevalence of neonatal sepsis was 45% (95% CI: 39%–51%; I2=99.34). The overall pooled effect size showed that prematurity was significantly associated with neonatal sepsis [OR=3.11 (95% CI: 2.22-3.99)]. Furthermore, maternal factors are strongly associated with neonatal sepsis. Conclusions: Nearly half of Ethiopian neonates are affected by neonatal sepsis. It is critical to reduce premature birth, low birth weight, and preterm membrane rupture to reduce the incidence of neonatal sepsis. Furthermore, it is preferable to design and strengthen policies and programs aimed at improving maternal nutritional status and treating maternal infections, which all contribute to lowering the burden of neonatal sepsis.