PEDIATRIC MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY AT THE ELDORET-DISTRICT-HOSPITAL, KENYA

Over an 18 month period, there were 4,720 paediatric admissions at the Eldoret District Hospital in Western Kenya. The most frequent 20 dise ases were identified and their respective case fatality rates calculat ed. Malaria was the most common cause for admission (33.0%) but the fo urth most common cause of death with a case fatality rate of 2.2%. The overall mortality rate on the paediatric wards was 8.2% with 64.9% of the deaths occurring within the first 24 hours of hospitalization. Th ree-fourth of all admissions were due to four diseases: malaria, pneum onia, gastroenteritis and measles. Targeted interventional programmes aimed at these 4 diseases, coupled with a comprehensive primary health care system, would most likely result in much less morbidity and mort ality for the children in the district. The systems for routinely coll ecting and storing medical records were found to be substandard, makin g it very difficult to accurately monitor morbidity and mortality.