Extra Hospital Deaths among under 15 Year-Old Minors in Abidjan. Aspects Epidemiological Features and Forensic Questions

Abstract

Among 14,377 extra hospital deaths recorded at the Forensic Unit of Abidjan between January 2002 and
December 2007 (6 years), 404 deaths (2.8%) concerned minors under 15 years old. The average age of the children
was of 8 years regardless of the sex. Boys were the most numerous (60.6%) for an average age of 8 years compared
to 39.4% of girls for an average of identical age. The place of death the most frequent one was the family residence
(37.9%), nevertheless, deaths occurring in public were not negligible (35.6%). However, the discoveries of corpses
of unknown children in nature (10.4%) of which the cause of death remained indeterminate in 74% of the cases,
raised forensic questions to which the pathologists attempt to reply.