Prospective Study of Domestic Accidents of the Child in Brazzaville, Congo

Abstract

Background: Home related accidents have emerged as an important public health issue in pediatrics. However, very few studies have been conducted in sub-saharan countries on domestic accidents among children. The purpose of this study was to determine the hospital frequency of domestic accidents in Brazzaville children, the type of accident, establish etiological factors and mortality. Methods: A total of 173 cases of domestic accidents were collected through a prospective study conducted from 1 January to 31 December 2017 in the pediatric intensive care unit of the University Hospital of Brazzaville. Medical records of children victims of unintentional trauma at home or in its immediate surroundings were collected. The following variables were recorded: the age and sex of the child, the hour, day and month of occurrence of the accident, parental attitudes in the management, and the prognosis (mortality). Results: Domestic accidents accounted for 9.2% of all admissions. The average age was 28.8 ± 10.5 months, a male predominance was noted (sex ratio equal to 1.6). Domestic accidents were found in 57.5% of children under two years (p 0.05). These children belong with more than 3 children in 63% of the cases. Accidents were dominated by ingestions (56.1% of cases), followed by falls (16.2%), burns (10.9%) and drug poisoning (9.2%). They often occurred between 12 pm and 8 pm, most often in the yard, the kitchen and the surroundings of the home. Three cases of death (1.53%) were enrolled including 2 cases of burns. Conclusion: domestic accidents are common in Brazzaville but their frequency is underestimated. Accidental ingestion remains the most frequent type of accident and mortality is high. Control of the causative factors is necessary to undertake effective preventive actions.