Neonatal and Infant-Juvenile Morbidity in African Hospitals: The Case of Commune II of the District of Bamako

Abstract

Introduction: Neonatal and child morbidity is a threat to socio-economic and health progress in sub-Saharan Africa. In paediatric in-patient practice, knowledge of morbidity is important for health care personnel to ensure optimal patient management. The frequency of these pathologies varies between countries. Objective: The objective of our study was to identify the main morbidities in children hospitalised in the paediatric ward of the commune II health centre. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study from 1 January to 31 December 2017. We included all children aged 01 month to 15 years hospitalized in the pediatric ward. The study included 418 children aged 0 to 15 years hospitalised in the department during the study period. Results: Children aged 0 to 5 years were the most represented 89.4% with a majority in the 0 to 1 month age group (39%). Males were the most represented with 58%, i.e. a M/F sex ratio of 1.4. ). The children's mothers were not in school in 78% of cases and were housewives in 70%, and 95% of the parents were married. Socioeconomic status was very low in 34% of families. The patients consulted after 1 to 2 days in 47.1% of cases. Admission to the service was direct in 84% and hospitalisation was more frequent between July and November in 66.3%. The reasons for hospitalization of children were dominated by fever 39% followed by respiratory difficulties 29% and convulsions 10%. Malaria was the first cause of hospitalization with 30%.