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INTRODUCTION: Burn injuries are a major cause of hospitalization and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in children aged four years or below. In Cameroon, the mortality rate of pediatric severe burns was estimated at 41.2%. There is need to determine the predictors of such mortality in order to guide appropriate management.

Summary: Introduction: Low birth weight (LBW) neonates have a high morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. Aim: Identify the risk factors for LBW neonates and outcome following admission in the hospital. Methodology: Retrospective, descriptive, case control study on 980 LBW babies and 980 controls on hospital records of neonates hospitalized in the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric hospital from May 2003 to December 2008. Results: Out of 4712 neonates admitted in the neonatology unit within the study period, 980 were LBWs giving a prevalence of 20.79%. The incidence of LBWs varied over the years with a peak of 32.24 to 37.45% observed between 2003 and 2004, and dropping thereafter to 13.13% in 2008. Hypotrophic premature neonates (85.6%) were more frequently observed than those born at term (14.4%), and occurred respectively at 6.3%, 24.2%, 55.1% and 14.4% for gestational ages of less than 28, 28–32, 32–36, and 37weeks or more. Hypotrophic prematures were significantly more than hypotrophic term neonates with a prevalence of 85.6% against 14.4% (P <0.001). Gestational ages ranged from 26 to 42weeks of amenorrhea, and birth weights from 960 to 2472grams. Significant risk factors were: mother''s age less than 20years, low level of education, primiparity, prenatal visits less than four, multiple pregnancies, malaria, urogenital infections, hypertension, and anemia during pregnancy. The mortality rate was 37.7%, with 79.04% of the deaths occurring in the early neonatal period. Risk factors for death were: multiple pregnancies, very LBWs, grand prematurity, deliveries in lower level health facilities, transfers from other health facilities, and an Apgar score less than 7 in the first minute (58.2%) and fifth minute (62.6%). Mortality was highest in the premature neonates with neonatal sepsis the leading cause of death, followed by neonatal asphyxia, and congenital malformations. Conclusions: The survival of low birth weight neonates can be improved upon by educating the young girl at reproductive age on the necessity for adequate follow-up of pregnancy and providing health facilities with well-trained health personnel and equipment for the proper management of LBW neonates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]