The goal of our study is to present epidemiological characteristics of neonates transferred from General
Hospital Pula (GH Pula) to tertiary pediatric center in a ten-year-period.
In our retrospective research we analized medical histories of neonates hospitalized at our Department from
January 1st 2006 to December 31st 2015 and transferred to a tertiary pediatric center. There are about 1300-1500
live births in our hospital every year. In the ten-year-period 14266 neonates were born and 158 (1,1%) of them
were transferred to a tertiary pediatric center. Hundred and fifty of them were transferred to University Hospital
Center (UHC) Rijeka and 8 of them to UHC Zagreb. In forty-seven neonates (29,7%) had to be used mechanical
ventilation during the transport. Thirty-two (20,3%) premature infants born before the 32nd gestational week
were transferred to UHC. The reasons for transportation to a tertiary pediatric center were: congenital heart
defects and rhytm abnormalities (N=41), respiratory problems (respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, neonatal
meconium aspiration sindrome) (N=25), gastrointestinal disorders (N=21), disorders of central nervous
system (N=15), disorders of hematological system (N=6), sepsis (N=7), perinatal asphyxia (N=3), disorders
on extremities (N=1), metabolic disorders (N=2), chromosomopathies (N=), disorders of genital tract (N=2).
Pregnancy complications were present in 53 cases. There were 146 singelton pregnancies and 6 twin pregnancies.
One hundred neonates had vaginal delivery (63,3%), and fifty-eight neonates (36,7%) were delivered by
cesarean section. Forty-one neonates were resuscitated after birth (25,9%).
All premature infants born before the 32nd gestational week and all other premature neonates and term neonates
that require long-term mechanical ventilation, specific diagnostic and therapeutic approach or surgical treatment
are transferred to a tertiary pediatric center, using vehicles for ground transport with all the necessary
equipment and with escort of our medical team. The majority of neonates were transported to UHC Rijeka, and
only few neonates were transported to UHC Zagreb
