Abstract
BackgroundVital registration data outlining causes of deaths (CoD) are important for a sustainable health system, targeted interventions and other relevant policies. There is data paucity on vital registration systems in developing countries. We assessed the leading causes and proportions of under-five deaths, and particularly those related to pneumococcal infections in Yaoundé, Cameroon, using hospital registration data.MethodsA retrospective case-finding observational study design was used to access and identify data on 817 death cases in children under-five years of age recorded in health facilities in Yaoundé, within the period January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2012. Patients’ files were randomly selected and needed information including demographic data, date of admission, clinical and laboratory diagnosis, principal and/or underlying causes of death were abstracted into structured case report forms. The International Classification of Diseases and Clinical Modifications 10th revision (ICD-10-CM) codes (ICD10Data.com 2017 edition) were used to classify the different CoD, retrospectively. Ascertainment of CoD was based on medical report and estimates were done using the Kaplan-Meier procedure and descriptive statistics.ResultsOf the 817 death records assessed, malaria was the leading CoD and was responsible for 17.5% of cases. Meningitis was the second largest CoD with 11.0%; followed by sepsis (10.0%), Streptococcus pneumoniae infections (8.3%), malnutrition (8.3%), gastro-enteritis / diarrhoea (6.2%), anaemia (6.1%) and HIV (3.5%), respectively.ConclusionThe main CoD in this population are either treatable or vaccine-preventable; a trend consistent with previous reports across developing countries. Besides, the health effects from non-communicable infections should not be neglected. Therefore, scaling-up measures to reduce causes of under-five deaths will demand sustainable efforts to enhance both treatment and disease prevention strategies, to avoid a decline in the progress towards reducing under-five deaths by 2/3 from the 1990 baseline.
Highlights
Vital registration data outlining causes of deaths (CoD) are important for a sustainable health system, targeted interventions and other relevant policies
This is important in the planning of sustainable health policies and needed interventions in concordance with the millennium development goal (MDG 4) [1], with a target of reducing by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 the under-five mortality rate [2]
We present data on hospital-based case finding of CoD in children abstracted into structured case report forms (CRF) in four health districts including the mother and child hospital (MCH) in Yaounde, Cameroon
Summary
This study aimed to determine the leading CoD in children aged 1–59 months in the MCH and health facilities within the infectious disease surveillance network in Yaounde, Cameroon, using hospital-based registers
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