Mortality pattern at a children's emergency ward, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

A retrospective study of the pattern of paediatric deaths at the children's emergency room (CHER) of the University College Hospital, Ibadan revealed a steady decline from 208 per 1000 admissions in 1978 to 179 per 1000 admissions in 1986. The study, however, showed that one in every five children admitted to the CHER died over the study period 1978, and 1981-1986. Measles has the highest proportionate death rate of 13.1% and it shares the highest fatality rate of 32.6% with tetanus. Gastroenteritis and bronchopneumonia, which were major causes of deaths in the CHER in the early 1970s decline considerably in importance. Also noteworthy is low birth weight which was associated with the least fatality rate among the 10 leading causes of emergency admissions. The age distribution of the children who died shows that the highest proportion was in the age group 1-2 yr. The use of the proportion of deaths of children in the 1-2 yr age group as a more reliable index for assessing the health status of a community is discussed. Also discussed is the preponderance of males over females in emergency admissions.