Author(s)

Penda Calixte Ida^1,2,3*, Endalè Mangamba Mireille-Laurent^4,5, Samè Bebey Francine^1,5, Maledje Kamgang Kiliane Lariale², Eposse Ekoubè Charlotte^1,2, Eyoum Bilè Bertrand², Kedy Koum Danièle^1,6*

¹Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon.
²Department of Pediatrics, Douala Laquintinie Hospital, Douala, Cameroon.
³Department of Pediatrics, Douala General Hospital, Douala, Cameroon.
⁴Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon.
⁵Department of Medicine, Douala Laquintinie Hospital, Douala, Cameroon.
⁶Pediatrics Unit, District Hospital of Déido, Douala, Cameroon.

Introduction: In the absence of health coverage in resource limited-settings, life-saving pediatric emergencies remain a challenge. The objective of our study was to describe the epidemiological profile of life-threatening pediatric emergencies at Laquintinie Hospital in Douala (HLD). Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out for a period of 3 months, from March to May 2017 in the pediatric emergency unit of HLD enrolling all children presenting a life-threatening emergency on admission. Local emergency kits and an internal deferred cost recovery voucher or “green voucher” were used to facilitate access to care for children on admission. The socio-demographic, clinical, therapeutic and evolutionary characteristics were collected and analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0. Results: A total of 135 children were enrolled and the sex ratio was 1.54. The mean age was 3.8 years ± 4.05 and 80.7% of the children were under 5 years old. The majority of children (82.9%) admitted to the emergency room came from peripheral health structures. The hospital prevalence of life-saving emergencies was 42.4%. The mean time to consultation after the onset of symptoms was 5.9 days and 66.0% of admissions were made during the 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. time slot. More than 4/5 of emergencies were neurological, respiratory and cardio-circulatory emergencies representing 35.6% and 18.5% respectively. Severe malaria accounted 31.9% of the etiologies, bronchopneumopathies and meningo-encephalitis were involved in 18.5% and 17.8% of cases respectively. Patients were managed within 30 minutes of admission in 75.6% of cases and 52.6% of them received a “green voucher”. The average length of stay in the emergency room was 6 days. The death rate from life-threatening emergencies was 17.8% and represented 61.5% of total deaths recorded in pediatric emergencies. Conclusion: The profile of life-threatening emergencies at the HLD was that of a child under 5 years old, coming from a peripheral health facility and presenting a neurological emergency.

Vital Emergencies, Pediatrics, Douala Laquintinie Hospital, Cameroon

Ida, P. , Mireille-Laurent, E. , Francine, S. , Lariale, M. , Charlotte, E. , Bertrand, E. and Danièle, K. (2021) Epidemiological Profile of Pediatric Vital Emergencies at Laquintinie Hospital of Douala, Cameroon. Open Journal of Pediatrics, 11, 148-160. doi: 10.4236/ojped.2021.111014.