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BMC Pediatrics
Published in: BMC Pediatrics 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Causes of death in hospitalized children younger than 12 years of age in a Chinese hospital: a 10 year study

Authors: Yueniu Zhu, Xiaodong Zhu, Mengyan Deng, Hongxia Wei, Mingjun Zhang

Published in: BMC Pediatrics | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

In China, the majority (77%) of urban children die in hospitals. Hospital-based review could provide insight leading to improvements in clinical practice and increase the survival of critically ill children. The aim of the present study is to identify the trends of immediate causes and chronic underlying diseases associated with deaths of children at one of the largest teaching hospitals in China over a period of 10 years (2006–2015).

Methods

A retrospective analysis of data of all children aged 1 month to 11 years who died at Xinhua Hospital between 2006 and 2015. Demographic details, main causes of deaths, and chronic underlying diseases were reviewed.

Results

Case fatality rate was 0.55% (510/93,443) and it represented 0.41–0.80% deaths per year. Overall, the most common immediate causes of deaths in hospitalized children were pneumonia (36.7%), sepsis (13.5%), tumour (11.4%), followed by nontraumatic intracranial or gastrointestinal hemorrhage (10.6%) and cardiac shock (9.6%). Over 70% of the deaths in children were complicated with chronic underlying diseases. Congenital abnormality was the most frequent chronic underlying disease observed in infants (60.3%) and tumour was the main chronic underlying disease in toddlers (31.1%) and older children (44%).

Conclusions

Infectious diseases, especially pneumonia, were the major immediate causes of deaths, and the mortality in the study population decreased with age. Tumour and other noninfectious disease accounted for more deaths in older children. Chronic underlying diseases were found in most deaths of children.
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Metadata
Title
Causes of death in hospitalized children younger than 12 years of age in a Chinese hospital: a 10 year study
Authors
Yueniu Zhu
Xiaodong Zhu
Mengyan Deng
Hongxia Wei
Mingjun Zhang
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Pediatrics / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2431
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-017-0981-y

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