Prevalence, main diagnoses, and outcomes of hospital admissions in Mongolian children: a national registry-based descriptive analysis.

BACKGROUND

No systematic data on pediatric hospital admissions in Mongolia are available.

METHODS

The Mongolian National Hospital Data registry was screened for pediatric (<18 years) hospital admissions (01.01.2019-31.12.2023) to report the prevalence, main diagnoses, and outcomes of hospital admissions in Mongolian newborns, post-neonatal children und 5 years, and children aged 5-17.99 years. Descriptive methods were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

During the study period, 927,223 pediatric hospital admissions were identified translating into a median prevalence of 5,218 (IQR: 4,386-6,098) pediatric hospital admissions per 100,000 population (all ages) per year. This prevalence was highest among post-neonatal children under 5 years (median: 3,780; IQR: 2,491-3,900), followed by children aged 5-17.99 years (median: 1,945; IQR: 1,929-2,071), and newborns (median: 275; IQR: 246-295) over the study period. Neonatal jaundice was the most frequent main diagnosis in newborns. Pneumonia and COVID-19 were most common in both post-neonatal children under 5 years and children aged 5-17.99 years. The median length of hospital stay was 6.7 (IQR: 5.0-9.0) days in newborns, 6.0 (IQR: 5.0-7.0) days in post-neonatal children under 5 years, and 7.0 (IQR: 5.0-8.0) days in children aged 5-17.99 years. The hospital mortality rate was 5.9% in newborns, 0.25% in post-neonatal children under 5 years, and 0.14% in children aged 5-17.99 years.

CONCLUSIONS

This nationwide, registry-based study found a median prevalence of 5,218 pediatric hospital admissions per 100,000 population (all ages) per year in Mongolia. The majority of pediatric hospital admissions occurred in post-neonatal children under five years. The observation period included the COVID-19 pandemic years.