Author(s)

Djibril Boiro^1*, Idrissa Basse², Laeticia Béatrice Takam², Ndeye Fatou Sow³, Amadou Sow¹, Aliou Abdoulaye Ndongo¹, Aminata Mbaye⁴, Ndiogou Seck⁵, Abou Ba³, Modou Guéye¹

¹Abass Ndao Hospital Center, Dakar, Senegal.
²Diamniadio Children’s Hospital, Dakar, Senegal.
³Dalal Diam Hospital, Dakar, Senegal.
⁴Albert Royer Children’s Hospital, Dakar, Senegal.
⁵Regional Hospital Center of St Louis, Dakar, Senegal.

Introduction: The exact definition of neonatal anemia varies between authors and sample sites. The objective was to describe the epidemiological, diagnostic, therapeutic, and progressive characteristics of neonatal anemia. Methodology: This was a retrospective and descriptive study over a 16-month period from January 2023 to April 2024. Any newborn aged between 0 and 28 days of life, regardless of the term at birth, with a hemoglobin level below 14 g/dl was included. Our study was carried out in two pediatric departments: the Abass Ndao Hospital Center (CHAN) and the Dalal National Hospital Center Jamm (CHNDJ). Results: A total of 308 cases were collected. The hospitalization rate was 15.4%. The sex ratio (M/F) was 0.7. Pregnancy-induced hypertension/preeclampsia (10.4%), and anemia in the first trimester (9.4%), were the main pathologies of pregnancy. Preventive iron intake was effective in all mothers. 21 mothers (6.81%) had received a blood transfusion. The notion of anemia in siblings was found in 15 newborns, or 4.9%. Prematurity was 37.3%. More than half of the newborns were delivered vaginally. Retroplacental hematoma was the most common adnexal pathology found at 7.8%. Mucocutaneous pallor was found in 56.5% of patients. Hemorrhage was the most common cause, at 31.8%. For the newborns, 46.5% received a blood transfusion. The death rate was 12%. Premature babies accounted for 33% of deaths. Septic shock was the most common cause of death. Conclusion: Neonatal anemia is common in our setting with a high mortality rate. It is important to strengthen preventive strategies against maternal anemia, infection and adnexal hemorrhages.

Anemia, Newborn, Morbidity, Mortality

Boiro, D. , Basse, I. , Takam, L. , Sow, N. , Sow, A. , Ndongo, A. , Mbaye, A. , Seck, N. , Ba, A. and Guéye, M. (2025) Neonatal Anemia in Two Pediatric Reference Centers in Dakar (Senegal). Open Journal of Pediatrics, 15, 348-356. doi: 10.4236/ojped.2025.153033.