TITLE:
Seizures in Children in the Lagoon Mother and Child University Hospital Center (CHUMEL) of Cotonou: Community Practices and Risk Factors for Death in Benin
AUTHORS:
Lehila Bagnan Tossa, Gilles Bognon, Gilles Bognon, Annatou Yakoubou, Francis Lalya, Marcos Doussoh
KEYWORDS:
Seizures, Traditional Resuscitation, Child, Benin
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.9 No.4,
October
30,
2019
ABSTRACT: Introduction: The experience of convulsions is full of myths in
our socio-cultural context. Objectives: To determine the frequency of
seizures, to identify community practices in the care of seizures and the death
risk factors. Methods: We conducted a prospective, descriptive and
analytical study between April and August 2015 in the pediatric ward of the
Lagoon Mother and Child University Hospital Center (CHUMEL) of Cotonou. We
included children aged from 1 month to 15 years old hospitalized for either
febrile or non-febrile convulsions happened at home. Results: A total of 102 cases of convulsion were included, 11.3% of
hospitalizations. These were mostly children under 5 years, 87/102 (85.3%).
Traditional resuscitation procedures were performed on 81 children (79.4%).
They consisted of the forced introduction of objects in the mouth in
46 cases (46.1%), the oral administration of various products in 39 cases
(38.2%), the ocular instillation of products in 10 cases (9.8%). Nineteen bodily
injuries were found. The lethality was 15.8%. The risk factors for death
identified were the use of traditional healers and the delay in consultation. Conclusion: The high frequency of seizures, the severity of seizures, the harmful
traditional practices performed, and the delay to consultation require to
strengthen the education of the population.