Hospital-based mortality in Federal Capital Territory hospitals--Nigeria, 2005-2008.
BACKGROUND
Cause-specific mortality data are important to monitor trends in mortality over time. Medical records provide reliable documentation of the causes of deaths occurring in hospitals. This study describes all causes of mortality reported at hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria.


METHODS
Deaths reported in 15 secondary and tertiary FCT hospitals occurring from January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2008 were identified by a retrospective review of hospital records conducted by the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Program (NFELTP). Data extracted from the records included sociodemographics, geographic area of residence and underlying cause-of-death information.


RESULTS
A total of 4,623 deaths occurred in the hospitals. Overall, the top five causes of death reported were: HIV 951 (21%), road traffic accidents 422 (9%), malaria 264 (6%), septicemia 206 (5%), and hypertension 194 (4%). The median age at death was 30 years (range: 0-100); 888 (20%) of deaths were among those less than one year of age. Among children < 1 year, low birth weight and infections were responsible for the highest proportion 131 (15%) of reported mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
Many of the leading causes of mortality identified in this study are preventable. Infant mortality is a large public health problem in FCT hospitals. Although these findings are not representative of all FCT deaths, they may be used to quantify mortality in that occurs in FCT hospitals. These data combined with other mortality surveillance data can provide evidence to inform policy on public health strategies and interventions for the FCT.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Epidemic Intelligence Service, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, and Division of Public Health Systems and Workforce Development, Center for Global Health Atlanta, GA, USA.
Nykiconia
N
Preacely
Oladayo
O
Biya
Saheed
S
Gidado
Halima
H
Ayanleke
Mohammed
M
Kida
Moses
M
Akhimien
Aisha
A
Abubakar
Ibrahim
I
Kurmi
Ikeoluwapo
I
Ajayi
Patrick
P
Nguku
Henry
H
Akpan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult