Child mortality in Saudi Arabia: Time for action at all levels

Although child mortality is declining in Saudi Arabia, new trends and causes are emerging. The objective of the study is to determine the causes of child death in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia and to identify its preventable causes and associated risk factors.

A modified UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) was used to analyze all deaths among children under the age of 18 which occurred at the King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital (KASCH) between 2010 and 2016.

After reviewing all the death charts of 1138 children, the team determined that 15% (172) of all deaths could have been prevented and the preventability increased with age. Only 2% of the neonates died of preventable causes, while 53% of the children of 6 years of age or older died of preventable causes. The highest percentage of preventable deaths occurred in children aged 13-18 years (39.3%), followed by the age group of 6-12 years (32.4%) and the age group of 29 days to 5 years (13.9%). All 966 (85%) deaths from biological causes were considered to be unpreventable. Among the preventable causes, 142 (82.5%) had injuries and 30 (17.4%) were sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) with no documented autopsy or death scene investigation, and thus it was considered preventable by the researchers. The 5 major causes of deaths secondary to injuries were motor vehicle accidents (MVA) accounting for 86 deaths (60.6%), followed by drowning accounting for 19 deaths (13.4%), child maltreatment accounting for 13 deaths (9.2%), fire and weapon accounting for 12 deaths (8.5%), and finally home accident (fall, poisoning, suffocation) accounting for 12 deaths (8.5%).

The State Child Death Reviews Board should thoroughly investigate deaths due to SUID and injuries by identifying the factors that contribute to the implementation of preventive strategies.