Pediatric mortality for non intentional injury in Havana. 2003-2012

• Main Authors: Jose Ramón Acosta, Araiz Consuegra Otero, Bárbara Acosta Batista, Juan Rodríguez Batista, José Acosta Batista
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana 2016-03-01
• Series: Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas
• Online Access: http://www.revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/1061

<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>Introduction</strong>: unintentional accidents and injuries mean a world health problem, and turn out to be the first pediatric cause of death. <strong><br /> Objective</strong>: to describe the epidemiologic behavior of pediatric mortality due to unintentional accidents and injuries in Havana. <strong><br /> Material and Methods</strong>: a descriptive and retrospective study about 216 deaths by this cause that did occurs between 2003-2012, in ages from 0-14 years old, according to data offered by the statistic department of the provincial health headquarters, and the variables studied were: year, age, sex, municipality, drowning sites, and kinds according to the international classification of diseases X edition. The percentage method was used; tables and graphs were made by means of the program XLSTAT, the rates were calculated x 100 000 inhabitants. <strong>Results:</strong> decreasing death rates in the decade from 0, 92 and 0, 76 (2003) to 0, 68 y 0, 25 (2012) in males and females respectively. The most frequent causes were: traffic (41,2%), drowning (24%), suffocation (6,4%), and intoxication (5,5%). The adolescents and schoolmate pedestrian died in more proportion for traffic accidents. The drowning, happening mostly in school (40,3%) and pre-school (30,7%) in pools and sea both with 19,2% and places without security aquatic 26,9%.  The intoxication showed up same proportion in adolescent and pre-school with 46,1% and the asphyxia in nurslings with 84,6%. The traffic accidents and drowning showed bigger deaths in the municipality Boyeros. <strong><br /> Conclusions</strong>: Mortality due to accidents still turns out to be a cardinal health problem in pediatric ages</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><strong> </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>Key words:</strong> accidents, child mortality, prevention, Immersion accident; epidemiology, primary care.</span></p>