Causes and Prognoses of Acute Fever in Children Aged 0 - 15 Who Are Hospitalized in the Department of Pediatrics at the University Hospital (UH) Gabriel Touré, Bamako-Mali

Fever is the primary reason for consultation and admission to pediatric emergency departments. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, etiological and prognostic aspects of acute fever in children aged 0 - 15 years. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 and affected all children aged 0 to 15 years old with a temperature of 39？C or higher (≥), having less than five days and hospitalized in the pediatric department of the Gabriel Touré University Hospital. Results: During the study period, 150 children were included, the sex-ratio was 0.85. Children aged 0 - 5 years represented 71.4% of the sample. References represented more than half of the sample, or 58% of cases. Body temperature was above 40？C in 18.7% of cases. Functional signs were dominated by respiratory signs in 28% and digestive signs in 18%. Clinical pallor was found in 55.3% of children associated with signs of respiratory struggle in 70% of cases and tachycardia in 40% of patients. Anemia was present in 65.3% of patients. Hyperleucocytosis and leukopenia were found in 45.3% and 43.3% of patients respectively. The C-reactive protein was positive in 44.7% of patients and Cytobacteriological Examination and Chemistry of Cerebrospinal Fluid was positive in 8.7% of cases. The thick drop was positive in 44.7% of patients and blood cultures grew in 6 patients. Etiology was dominated by severe malaria 54 cases (36%), pneumonia (19.3%), meningitis (12.6%), and in those under one month it was bacterial neonatal infection (8.6%). In our study, slightly more than one patient out of three died during hospitalization, 36% (54 cases/150) and among these 70% (38 cases/54) were under 5 years old. The most lethal pathologies were severe malaria (36%), bacterial pneumonia (19.3%), meningitis (12.6%), bacterial neonatal infections (8.6%) and measles complicated by pneumonia (5.3%). Mortality during hospitalization was 36% of deaths (54 out of 150 patients) and 70.3% (38/54) of the deceased patients were under 5 years old. Conclusion: This study shows that fever is a frequent symptom and a sign of serious and very lethal pathologies. The cause of fever can be a diagnostic challenge for health workers. However, early identification of children at risk for serious illness could allow for prompt and appropriate management in appropriate settings.