Causas de mortalidad en pacientes hospitalizados, menores de 18 años en el Hospital Roberto Gilbert Elizalde, entre enero 2019 a diciembre 2023.

Abstract

Introduction: Studying causes of death allows addressing and preventing diseases or conditions contributing to mortality. Infant mortality is as an indicator of development and attainment of SDGs. Globally, the leading causes of death include prematurity, congenital anomalies, and respiratory infections. Ecuador lacks of studies on hospital mortality causes. Methods: We conducted an observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study. We analyzed 1400 clinical records from institutional reports and clinical data from the Servinte system, presenting findings through graphs and tables. Results: A total of 1092 clinical reports were studied, calculating a mortality rate of 18.30 per-1000 discharges and a downward trend in the last two years, there was a slight male predominance (51.83%), infants (39.01%) and neonates (38.37%) were the most affected. Most deaths occurred in the NICU and PICU. Death occurred mainly after 48 hours of admission, the majority presented some comorbidity (66.30%), 11.45% had an infection associated with health care and 31.65% underwent surgery. The main direct causes of death were shock (51.19%), disseminated intravascular coagulation (11.45%) and acidosis (4.67%). The most frequent basic causes were prematurity (16.39%), congenital heart malformations (11.63%) and pneumonia (10.53%). Conclusions: Local statistics resemble global trends, underscoring the need for continuous educational plans to improve medical personnel performance.