Risk Factors for Neonatal Mortality at St Camille Hospital in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Background: neonatal mortality remains a public health concern in developing countries such as burkina faso. improving the survival rate of newborns requires a good knowledge of the current situation. this study aimed at determining the risk factors for neonatal mortality in the neonatology department of saint camille hospital of ouagadougou (hosco - hôpital saint camille de ouagadougou). materials and methods: this was a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study that included all newborns hospitalized in the neonatology department, at st camille hospital, in burkina faso from january 1 to december 31, 2017. total of 710 records of hospitalized newborns in 2017 wereanalyzed. among them our study focused on cases of death.results: the neonatology department registered 246 deaths out of 710 hospitalizations, representing a mortality rate of 34.6%, of whom 194 (78.8%) were preterm infants and 52 (11.2%) were term newborns. among the deceased newborns, 88% had a low birth weight and the sex ratio was 0.8. november was the most fatal period (12.6%). prematurity and respiratory distress were the main reasons for referral. prematurity (76.4%), asphyxia (51.2%) and neonatal infection (27.2%) were the top 3 diagnoses at admission. the leading cause of death was respiratory distress (89.8%). all the newborns have been hospitalized within 24 hours of life and the average time to death in the unit was 3 days and 54% of deaths occurred within 72 hours of hospitalization.conclusion: mortality rate is higher among preterm infants while it is relatively low among full-term newborns in our facility. prematurity, asphyxia and neonatal infection remain the main risk factors associated with neonatal mortality.