Reasons for Emergency Consultations in the Paediatric Department of the Reference Health Centre in Commune II of the District of Bamako (MALI)

Introduction: The reason for consultation is the basis of medical reasoning, its understanding is fundamental to avoid diagnostic errors. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of emergency consultations among children aged 2 months to 15 years in the paediatric department of the health centre of the commune II of Bamako. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive study from 1 January to 31 December 2017. We included all children aged 2 months to 15 years who were consulted in emergency at the paediatric department. Data were collected from medical records and consultation registers on survey forms. Some variables (socio-demographic and clinical) were retained for analysis. Results: In our study, 254 patients aged 2 to 15 years were included. Children under 5 years of age were the most represented 82.67% and those aged 11-15 years the least represented 3.54%. Males were the most represented with 59.44% M/F sex ratio of 1.46. Parents of children residing in commune II at the time of the consultation were in the majority (74.81%). Parents came directly with their children in 83.85% and had a reference in 16.14%. The reasons for consultation were dominated by fever (50%), followed by respiratory difficulties (16.53%) and convulsions (14.17%). Consultations for fever, breathing difficulties and convulsions were more frequent in October with respectively: 23.62%; 26.19%; 22%.