Paediatric Emergency Admissions, Mortalities, and Unmet Intensive Care Needs at a Tertiary Hospital in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The essence of seeking medical services is to be provided with essential medical care to prevent complications and possibly death from the illness.

Objective: To examine the pattern of admissions into the Children’s Emergency Room and unmet intensive care needs in a tertiary health facility.

Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin, Nigeria, over a 24-month period (2018 – 2019).

Results: A total of 10 138 children presented to the children's emergency room, and 2 914 children (28.6%) were admitted. There were a total of 144 mortalities (4.94%) of the total admissions. Infectious diseases accounted for the Majority of the deaths. The commonest morbidity necessitating admission was meningitis, while the sickle cell crisis and oncologic pathologies contributed the least - most children presented with multiple morbidities. The under-5s made up 61.1% of deaths recorded. More deaths amongst males compared to female children (1.3:1.1). Majority of the deaths occurred within 12 hours of presentation. Of the 144 mortalities recorded, 140 (97.2%) required intensive care services, while four did not qualify for ICU care. Of the 140 children who qualified for ICU care, 17 (12%) were admitted into the ICU for further care, of which only 2 (12.3%) survived and were discharged home. The others died.

Conclusion: The persistently high contribution of infectious disease to infant and child mortality, coupled with an inability to offer intensive care services, should be an important consideration for health planners and administrators.