CN Onyearugha, PEN Onyemachi, IO George
Aim: To determine the prevalence, aetiology and related factors of childhood mortality in Abia State University Teaching Hospital Aba, Abia state, southeast Nigeria.
Study design: Retrospective study.
Place and duration of study: Data were obtained from admission case records of children admitted to children’s emergency unit and the ward from January 1st to December 31st 2016.
Methodology: We included 582 subjects (359 males, 223 females) whose data were analyzed using statistical software SPSS version 16.
Results: The prevalence of childhood mortality was 11.7%. Malaria (40.2%), Diarrhea (22.4%), Sepsis (13.1%), Pneumonia (12.0%) constituted the leading causes of morbidity. Majority of the patients (81.3%) were discharged home, 22.4% discharged against medical advice while 11.7% died. Leading causes of mortality were Malaria (38.2%), Sepsis (20.6%), and Diarrhea (19.1%). Significantly more children in age bracket 1 to 11 months (7.2%) than older age groups (4.6%) suffered mortality p=0.000. Most deaths occurred in the months of January (14.7%) and February (19.1%).
Conclusion: Malaria, Diarrhea, Sepsis and Pneumonia are leading causes of morbidity and mortality with deaths occurring significantly more in infants.
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