Morbidity and Mortality on Infant Admissions

ABSTRACT

Total 2,815ufants less than one year of age were subjected to his clinical and statistical observation on morbidity and mortality. These infants were the sum of all admissions to the department of pediatrics, Chonnam University Medical School Hospital forthe six-year period from 1971. Highestincidence of morbidity and mortality and mortality could be noted in the male infants and in summer. Of all the the admission, the nenates were 40 %, and 60% of these neonates belonged to the early neonates . Half of them all were from Kwangju city. Overall mortality rate was 13.5 %. The two-thirds of 380 infant deaths were neonates and the early neonateso ccupied two-thirds of neonates. The incidence of death in each age group was approximately one in five early neonate admissions, one in six late neonates, and one in ten infancy proper. The individual disease entity proved to have the highest incidence of morbidity and mortality in each age group was pneumonia in all, prematurity in the early neonates, and tetanus in thelate neoatets. Sepsicemia, however, showed the highest mortality rate among all the diseases , and the late neonates the highest death rate was noted in tetanus. It can be said from this study that about two-thirds of the infant deaths occurred within two days of hospitalization andderived from the preventable and curble diseases with prompt and adequatamanagement.