[Infectious profile of the newborn in a pediatric unit in a regional hospital center in Togo]. / Profil infectieux du nouveau-né dans un service de pédiatrie d'un chr au Togo.

In one year 106 suspect cases of neo-natal infection were admitted to the pediatric ward of CHR in Kara. The principal elements of diagnosis (slow labor, premature membrane rupture, troubled or fetid amniotic fluid, other obstetrical maneuvers or neo-natal reanimation) were related to insufficient follow-up during pregnancy. Given the lack of means for microbiologic investigation we were unable to identify any etiologic agent apart for Plasmodium. However, therapeutic response indicated infections of bacterial origin. The high rates of infectious morbidity (87%) and lethality (36%) could be reduced by the continued training of traditional birth attendants and the application of a maternal child health policy as part of an integrated primary health care program.