Incidence and Risk Factors for Prolonged Stay in Children Hospitalised with Pneumonia
SC12-SC14
Correspondence
Dr. Manas Ranjan Mishra,
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, KIMS, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar -751024, Odisha, India.
E-mail: drmrmishra@gmail.com
Introduction: Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (LRTI) is one of the common causes of morbidity and mortality in children and is responsible for hospitalisation.
Aim: The current descriptive epidemiological study aimed to analyse the risk factors for the prolonged hospital stay in children suffering from LRTIs.
Materials and Methods: From August 2016 to July 2017, a total of 245 patients admitted for LRTI in the Department of Paediatrics, KIMS was included in the current investigation. Current diagnosis, demographic profile and length of hospital stay were examined and data were analysed using GRAPH-PAD-PRISM software version 7.0.
Results: All the 245 children were identified with LRTI. Gender wise distribution showed 173 (70.6%) males and 72 (29.4%) females. The mean hospital stays for female patients (6.15 days) were higher than males (7.07 days) (p<0.05) with an average duration of 6.8 days. The hospital stay was significantly higher in children with an age range of 11-14 years in comparison to 1 mo-1 year aged children (p=0.001). Among different groups of LRTIs, patients suffering from Pneumonia had a longer duration of hospitalisation (8.15 days).
Conclusion: Among children, the duration of hospitalisation was higher in males indicating that gender has a role in susceptibility and severity of the disease. Prolonged hospital stay was observed in children >10 years of age. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment options should be made for this age group of children to prevent prolonged hospitalisation.