[Clinical epidemiological findings in infants who were dead on arrival to hospital]

Some clinical and social aspects of 262 infants who were considered to be dead on arrival to the emergency care room of a suburban hospital at south east metropolitan Santiago, Chile, in the last five years were analysed. This figure amounts for 24% of infant mortality rate of that area. Males under age 6 month were more frequently affected (61.2%) than any other group; low birth weight was present in 25.4% of the cases and previous hospital admission in 41.7% incidence of death before hospital admittance was more frequent in spring and summer than in autumn and winter (22.9 vs. 77.1%); monthly family income was under U$50 in 58% of cases, 30% of mothers were under age twenty year, and 43% of patients had been reared by maritally unstable couples. Previous denial of care was reported in only four cases. Body temperature was recorded at hospital arrival in 72.5% of dead on arrival infants and it was above 40 degrees C in 20% of them. Preventive measures to control family based infant mortality should probably include education of mothers at the well baby clinic on risk factors, early consultation, appropriate initial management of fever and other emergencies at home, together with measures to provide easy access for everybody to timely an efficient medical care.