Risk profile and neonatal prognosis of perinatal asphyxia in a pediatric hospital in Ouagadougou

Introduction. - Newborn health remains a concern in low-income countries. This work aims toanalyze the profile and neonatal prognosis of perinatal asphyxia in an urban health structuresouth of the Sahara.Patients and methods. - This is a prospective cross-sectional study from June 1 to November 30,2013, on term newborns hospitalized for perinatal asphyxia in medical pediatric department ofpediatric teaching hospital Charles de Gaulle.Results. - The perinatal asphyxia represented 19.8% of admissions. The sex-ratio was 1.6.Amniotic fluid was abnormal in 61 cases (71.8%). General signs were dominated by respira-tory distress and hyperthermia with 65.9% and 45.9%, respectively. All newborns presentedneurological manifestations dominated by archaic reflexes abnormalities (92.9%), followed byhypotonia (88.2%) and seizures (35.3%). According to Sarnat classification, stage 2 was dominantwith 45.9%. Renal failure, which was often transient, was noted in 38 infants (44.7%), of which 26(30.6%) had neurological distress stage 2. Metabolic disorders were dominated by hypoglycemia(37.6%) and hyperglycemia (28.2%). Transfontanellar and abdominal ultrasound were abnormalwith 17 (20%) and 6 cases (7.1%). The mortality rate was 6 (7.1%) with four newborns kidneyfailure.Conclusion. - Perinatal asphyxia remains a serious pathology. The high mortality recalls theneed to strengthen prevention by preparation of an efficient and satisfactory resuscitation.