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

Abstract

Introduction: Acute respiratory infection is a major cause of mortality and morbidity among under-five children in developing countries. Children under five years of age are most vulnerable to various common but treatable conditions. The objective of this study is to find the prevalence of acute respiratory infections among under-five hospitalized children in a tertiary hospital of central Nepal.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary hospital of Nepal from January 2018 to December 2019. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional review committee (Reference No: 2020-073). Convenience sampling technique was used. Data was entered in the Microsoft excel sheet, then extracted and analyzed in the Statistical package of Social Sciences version 20. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and percentage and presented in tables and figures.

Results: Among 660 children in our study, the prevalence of acute respiratory infection among hospitalized under-five children was 242 (36.67%) (32.99-40.34 at 95% Confidence Interval). Fever and cough were the most common presenting complaints among these children seen in 196 (81%) and 185 (76%) respectively. Stunting and wasting were seen in 37 (15%) and 26 (10.7%) of these children with acute respiratory infection while 6 (2.5%) of them were found overweight.

Conclusions: Acute respiratory infection is the most common reason for hospital admission among children under five years of age and the prevalence was high as compared to the standard study. The chief complaints are fever and cough.