Mortality pattern in children aged 3-59 months hospitalized in the intensive care unit at a paediatric center in Yaounde-Cameroon

Abstract

Introduction: mortality risk is high at the Intensive Care Units (ICU) in developing countries. We here report the deaths occurred in the ICU at the Mother and Child Center in Yaounde, Cameroon. Methods: we conducted a retrospective study on the clinical, socio-demographic features, the therapeutic strategy as well as some of the factors associated with deaths occurred in 200 patients aged 3-59 months between 2010 and 2014. Results: out of 2675 patients included in the study, 1807 were aged 3-59 months and 303 died. The overall and cause-specific mortality rate in this age group was 11.3% and 16.7% respectively. Most patients (152/200; 76.0%) died within 24 months and the median admission time was 7 days. More than half of patients (57.0%) presented to a health center and only 66 (33.3%) presented to a referral hospital. Severe malaria (24.0%), pneumonia (18.0%) and gastroenteritis (16.0%) were the most common diseases. Malnutrition and HIV/AIDS were the underlying causes of death in 23.0% and 20.5% of patients respectively. Gastroenteritis multiplied the risk of death of approximately 6 times (OR = 5.76; p = 0.000) in patients affected by malnutrition and HIV infection. Deaths mainly occurred (90.0%) within 72 hours of admission. Conclusion: despite limited resources, some diseases could have been easily treated avoiding complications which require reanimation. It is essential to intensify the fight against malaria, HIV infection and malnutrition.