Pattern of medical childhood morbidity and mortality in a new specialist hospital in Gusau, Nigeria

Introduction: Pattern of hospital admissions and mortality can be a valuable tool in auditing hospital performance. Medical childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries are high; there has been no reported hospital audit of paediatric admissions in Gusau, Zamfara State. Aim: We undertook the first hospital audit of paediatric medical admissions at Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, Gusau to evaluate the morbidity and mortality pattern. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study involving postneonatal children aged 1 month to 12 years 11 months, admitted and managed in the paediatric medical wards between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014. Results: Of the 801 children admitted over the study period, 449 (56.1%) were males; with a male: female ratio of 1.3:1. Children under the age of 5 years accounted for 64.9% of the admissions. The common diagnosis was infectious; with malaria, Diarrhoea, sepsis and pneumonia as the most common. Mortality rate was 11.2%, and 1.9% were discharged against medical advice. Malaria, sepsis, diarrhea and pneumonia were the major cause of death in under fives. Malaria, sepsis and seizure disorder were the commonest cause of death in children >5 years. There was no association between mortality and gender ( p = 0.320). Children under 5 years were more likely to die than those over 5 years (odds ratio-1.5; 95% confidence interval (1.1-2.5); p = 0.035). Conclusion: The morbidity and mortality pattern of children in Gusau is similar to what has been reported in other studies. There is a need for more effort by the stakeholders in the health sector to ensure adequate vaccination of children and provision of essential drugs in health care centers in Zamfara state.