The Predictors of Hospital-Death Among Children in Western Iran

• Main Authors: Soraya Siabani, Maryam Babakhani, Ali Soroush, Hossien Siabani, Homa Babaie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2021-01-01
• Series: Acta Medica Iranica
• Subjects: Children; Infants; Death; Iran; Mortality
• Online Access: https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/view/8330

Analyzing child mortality, an important indicator of health and development of countries, can help policymakers to develop health programs that resulted in improving Childs’s health. Recognizing the causes of in-hospital deaths also assists health caregivers to revise their medical services. The aim of this study was to explore the causes of death in the largest hospital in western Iran. This retrospective descriptive-analytical study was conducted in Imam Reza Hospital (IRH) in Kermanshah, data including demographic characteristics (e.g., age), medical information, and causes of death of patients aged ≤18 years, from April 2012 to March 2017 were collected using a checklist. The causes of mortalities were categorized based on the International Coding of Diseases (ICD, Version 10). Using logistic regression, Chi-square, and Cramer's V test in SPSS, the relationships between the outcome and predicting variables were assessed. The results showed 1113 deaths among 21,247 people≤, 18 years people admitted to IRH for five years. About 55% were female and 74% neonate, with a dropping trend from 2011 (4.62%) to 2016 (4.00%). Medical records, mostly, used a variety of usual medical terms for the causes of death, rather than using ICD10 categories. Data were analyzed after alternating medical terms and re-coding data using ICD10. Respiratory system diseases by 34% (dominancy of hyaline membrane diseases), infectious diseases by 28% (leading by sepsis), and diseases of the blood by 13% (mostly disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)), respectively, were the most common causes of death. Age was the most important associated factor for all-cause mortality associated with infectious diseases and respiratory system diseases (P=0.01). Having a significant number of neonatal mortality, paying more attention to the neonatal, prenatal, and antenatal care is recommended. In addition, the fatality of infectious diseases is concerning and needs paying serious attention to the health care system.