Review of Paediatrics Inpatient at a Zonal Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Childhood illnesses cause significant number of admissions in different level hospitals. This retrospective study was undertaken to analyze the morbidity pattern in the Paediatric ward at a Zonal Hospital with aim that the results obtained will help in planning, prioritizing and implementing preventive, promotive and curative health care activities of the children in resource poor community. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out retrospectively for one year from July/Aug 2010 -June/July 2011. Age, sex, diagnosis, month of admission, duration of admission and the frequency of diseases were evaluated. Results: A total number of 977 patients were admitted during the study period. There were 579(59%) male and 398(41%) female children. Less than five years age group accounted for 569(58%) excluding the neonates. In the study period, respiratory tract infections were the commonest cause of admission 309(31.6%), gastrointestinal including diarrhoeal diseases were 278(28.5%), enteric fever comprised of 69(7%), and other diseases comprised of about 390(39.5%). Of the total admissions, CNS diseases comprised of 128(13%) of which 29(3%) were meningitis and meningoencephalitis. Sixty seven (52%) of the total CNS cases were due to febrile convulsion. Renal and cardiovascular diseases were 8.5% and 1.5% respectively. Conclusion: Children under five years of age being the most common age group amongst all, with respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases still being the most predominant cause of paediatric morbidity; community level interventions including IMCI should be strengthened for reducing hospital admissions, along with allocation of hospital beds and supplies as per morbidity pattern.

Pattern of Pediatric Morbidity in Hospital Admitted Patients in Western Region of Nepal

“…Enteric fever and acute gastroenteritits involving the gastrointestinal system were the subsequent causes for the admission. These findings are in consistent with the similar studies conducted in other set up including the one conducted in Bangladesh by Hasan et al 4,5,6 . The national data from recent Annual Health Report published by Department of Health Services also shows the acute respiratory infection being the most common cause of childhood diseases followed by acute diarrhea 7 .…”

“…During the six months of our study, maximum number of admission was in August/September. This finding was similar with the study conducted in a Zonal Hospital of Nepal 4 . This may be due to the rainy season favoring for the more diarrhea and enteric fever cases.…”

“…This finding is similar to the other studies conducted in the Medical College and Zonal Hospital of Nepal 3,4,5 . This may be due to the preference of male child to bring hospital as soon as possible in our society.…”

“…Similar studies have been conducted in other medical colleges and hospitals of Nepal 3,4,5 , but quite earlier. Also there has been paucity of this type of research around Western hilly region of Nepal.…”

Acute Respiratory Infections among Under-five Children Admitted in a Tertiary Hospital of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

“…Pneumonia is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in under-five children globally but its prevalence varies across the globe. [5][6][7] Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim to find the prevalence of acute respiratory infections among hospitalized children under five years of age.…”