Evaluating the Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB) II Score for Mortality Prediction in Preterm Newborns: A Prospective Observational Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Neonatal mortality is an issue that affects both the developed and developing world. It is very important in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to do the assessment of the severity of neonatal illness, which in turn helps in estimating and preventing mortality in the NICU by improving healthcare control and by rational use of resources. This research was carried out to evaluate how effectively the Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB) II score can predict mortality rates among newborns treated in our NICU. Methodology: This prospective observational study spanned one year, commencing in October 2021 and concluding in September 2022, within the confines of our NICU. The CRIB II score calculation was performed for included newborns, and the outcomes of the newborns were compared. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was obtained to ascertain the optimal CRIB II cut-off score for predicting mortality.

Results: Within the designated research timeframe, 292 neonates were admitted to the NICU. Forty-four newborns were enrolled in the study. Preterm neonates who died had higher CRIB II scores than those who survived, and their median (IQR) was 6 (1-12) vs. 9.5 (5-14) (p=0.0003). The estimate for the area under the curve was 0.83 (95% CI 0.68-0.92), and the odds ratio of 2.56 suggests neonates with a higher CRIB II score have higher chances of mortality.

Conclusion: The CRIB II score is very good at predicting mortality in preterm newborns.