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Childhood deaths from anaemia in Accra, Ghana
1Department of Child Health, University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana.
Insights
Severe anaemia in Ghanaian children causes significant illness and death, with many needing transfusions. Iron deficiency is a key factor, highlighting the need for iron supplementation and nutritional support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Hematology
- Public Health
Background:
- Severe anemia is a critical health issue in Southern Ghana, leading to high rates of child morbidity and mortality.
- Prevalence data from Korle Bu Teaching Hospital reveals a high incidence of anemia, with a significant percentage of children presenting with severe hemoglobin levels requiring urgent intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the prevalence and severity of anemia in children attending Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
- To identify the primary causes of anemia and its contribution to child mortality.
- To inform public health strategies for anemia prevention and management in Ghana.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of hematological data from 15,450 children.
- Review of mortality data related to severe anemia in emergency rooms.
- Assessment of blood transfusion utilization by the Department of Child Health.
Main Results:
- 71.1% of children had hemoglobin levels below 11.0 Gm/dl, indicating anemia.
- 27.7% of anemic patients had severe anemia (Hb < 7.0 gm/dl), and 71.1% of those had critically low levels (Hb < 5.0 gm/dl).
- Severe anemia was linked to 58.1% of annual deaths in children beyond the neonatal period, with iron deficiency being the most common cause.
Conclusions:
- Severe anemia poses a major threat to child survival in Southern Ghana.
- Iron deficiency anemia is prevalent and exacerbates other conditions like sickle cell disease and malnutrition.
- Implementing iron supplementation for at-risk infants and preschool children, alongside nutritional counseling and food fortification, is recommended.
Abstract:
Severe anaemia has remained a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children of Southern Ghana since the early 1960s. 71.1% of 15450 children attending the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra referred to the laboratory for haematological studies had haemoglobin (HB) levels below 11.0 Gm/dl while 27.7% of anaemic patients had Hb levels below 7.0 gm/dl. Indeed, 71.1% of children with severe anaemia had Hb levels below 5.0 gm/dl, thus requiring urgent blood transfusion. Though the Department of Child Health alone utilised 32.2% of total blood processed by the National Blood Transfusion Service at Korle Bu, as many as 259 (58.1%) of the 554 deaths in the emergency rooms per annum in children beyond the neonatal period were related to severe anaemia. Iron deficiency was the commonest cause of anaemia and contributed further to the anaemias of sickle cell disease and protein--energy malnutrition. In the light of the significant decline in the prevalence of childhood anaemia in the developed world following improved counseling in nutrition, fortification of foods with iron, and iron supplementation to infants and school children, and the documented attendant improvement in growth velocity and intellectual performance we support the planned national anaemia survey and recommend for early consideration iron supplementation to older infants and pre-school children at risk.
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