{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T04:05:17Z","timestamp":1784001917873,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]],"date-time":"2026-07-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783728000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pediatric Reports"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Prematurity remains a major global health challenge and is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. The risk of adverse outcomes is inversely associated with gestational age and birth weight. Although advances in neonatal intensive care have improved survival rates over recent decades, very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) preterm neonates continue to experience substantial morbidity and remain vulnerable to long-term complications. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the morbidity and mortality of very-low-birth-weight preterm neonates (&lt;1500 g) admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de Ciudad Victoria (HRAEV), Mexico. Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted through a review of medical records of VLBW preterm neonates admitted to the NICU between January 2019 and December 2023. Demographic, perinatal, clinical, and outcome-related data were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 58 VLBW preterm neonates were included. Mean gestational age was 29.8 \u00b1 2.7 weeks, and mean birth weight was 1109 \u00b1 238 g. The most common morbidities were respiratory distress syndrome (81.0%), apnea of prematurity (72.4%), hyperbilirubinemia (68.9%), pneumonia (34.5%), sepsis (32.7%), patent ductus arteriosus (25.8%), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (26.9% among infants who survived to 36 weeks\u2019 PMA), necrotizing enterocolitis (15.5%), and intraventricular hemorrhage (12.0%) and retinopathy of prematurity (8.6%). Overall mortality was 10.3%. Conclusions: VLBW preterm neonates remain at high risk for significant morbidity despite relatively favorable survival rates. Respiratory distress syndrome, apnea of prematurity, hyperbilirubinemia, and sepsis were the most frequent complications, whereas deaths occurred mainly in the context of severe respiratory and systemic complications, including neonatal asphyxia, pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, shock, and multiple organ failure. Survival outcomes should be interpreted cautiously because of differences in study populations, referral patterns, local viability practices, and study design across neonatal settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pediatric18040095","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T02:34:44Z","timestamp":1783996484000},"page":"95","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Morbidity and Mortality of Very-Low-Birth-Weight Preterm Neonates in a Tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Northeastern Mexico: A Five-Year Retrospective Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Esteban","family":"L\u00f3pez-Garrido","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos en Neonatos, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad Ciudad Victoria, Servicios de Salud del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social Para el Bienestar (IMSS-BIENESTAR), Libramiento Guadalupe Victoria S\/N, \u00c1rea de Pajaritos, Victoria 87087, Tamaulipas, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alejandra Guadalupe","family":"Polina Lugo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Tamaulipas, Matamoros 87300, Tamaulipas, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ana Patricia","family":"Ortega-Gonz\u00e1lez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Tamaulipas, Matamoros 87300, Tamaulipas, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0627-4905","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hadassa Yuef","family":"Mart\u00ednez-Padr\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Subdirecci\u00f3n de Ense\u00f1anza e Investigaci\u00f3n, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad Ciudad Victoria, Servicios de Salud del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social Para el Bienestar (IMSS-BIENESTAR), Libramiento Guadalupe Victoria S\/N, \u00c1rea de Pajaritos, Victoria 87087, Tamaulipas, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2023). 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