Deaths at home and in hospital in Zimbabwe.

A prospective study was done of children less than 13 years of age, who died at home or on their way to hospital and those who died in hospital, over a one year period. Fifty seven (86%) of the 66 children who were dead on arrival and 94 (77%) of the 122 children who died after admission were 2 years old or less. The main causes of death in both groups were identical and infections were the most frequent diagnosis. AIDS was the most common cause with 23 (35%) of the deaths in the children who were dead on arrival and 27 (22%) of the deaths in the children who died after admission. An overall positive HIV-I serology was found in 31 (47%) of the children in the dead on arrival group and in 50 (41%) of the children in the group that died after admission.