The Magnitude of Under-five Emergencies in a Resource-poor Environment of a Rural Hospital in Eastern Nigeria: Implication for Strengthening the House-hold and Community-integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses

BACKGROUND: Under-five in Nigeria are the most vulnerable group that are often challenged by emergency health conditions. AIM: The study was to describe the magnitude of under-five emergencies in a resource-poor environment of a rural hospital in eastern Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based study of 282 under-five patients with emergency health conditions at a rural Hospital in Imo state, eastern Nigeria. Data extracted included bio-data and diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 282 under-five emergencies were studied. The ages of the patients ranged from 12 days to 58 months with mean age of 34 ± 9.4 months. There were 153 (54.3%) males and 129 (45.7%) females with male to female ratio of 1.2: 1. The three most common causes of under-five emergencies were acute uncomplicated malaria (29.1%), severe malaria anemia (24.5%), and acute respiratory infections (22.7%). The predominant outcome of emergency admission was discharged home (83.0%). The preeminent cause of death was severe malaria anemia (81.8%). All deaths occurred within 24 hours of hospitalization. CONCLUSION: The three most common under-five emergencies were infectious medical emergencies and the preeminent cause of death was malaria-related. Strengthening the quality of the Roll Back Malaria Initiative, household and community-integrated management of childhood illnesses will help to reduce these preventable medical emergencies and deaths.