Lower Respiratory Tract Infection: An Unrecognised Risk Factor for High Altitude Pulmonary Edema?

Background: Malnutrition among young children is becoming a major public health concern in low income countries like Nepal where under nutrition remains one of the primary causes of ill health. Acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) and malnutrition in children are associated with morbidity and mortality in developing countries.Objective of this study was to assess ALRTI as a risk factor for malnutrition in children at Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study con-ducted at Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital over 5 months duration (August - December 2017). Under 5 yrs children diagnosed as ALRTI were taken and healthy children from same age group attending the immunization clinic were the controls. Anthropometric measurements were measured and stunting and wasting were described according to the WHO classification of malnutrition. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18. Statistical analyses were done in the form of frequency, mean and cross tabulation. Chi-Square test was used to assess the association of ALRTI with malnutrition. P value <0.05 was considered to be sig-nificant. Results: A total of 200 children were included in this study. Children with ALRTI (n = 90) and con-trols (n =110) were analyzed. Male participants were observed more in both groups (60% and 68%). Wasting and stunting were observed more in ALRTI group than in control groups. Conclusions: This study showed there was a relation between ALRTI and malnutrition in children. So, this study has identified malnutrition as one of the major risk factor for ALRTI in under 5 yrs children.

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Anemia as a Risk Factor for Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection in Children Below Five Years of Age

Nepalese Medical Journal ◽

10.3126/nmj.v1i1.20390 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 5-8

Author(s):

Henish Shakya ◽

Saurav Singh ◽

Ashish Lakhey

Keyword(s):

Risk Factor ◽

Tract Infection ◽

Respiratory Tract ◽

Respiratory Tract Infection ◽

Lower Respiratory Tract Infection ◽

Lower Respiratory Tract ◽

Respiratory Tract Infections ◽

P Value ◽

Lower Respiratory Tract Infections ◽

Tract Infections

Introduction: Lower respiratory tract infection is a major cause of death in children in a developing country and anemia is found to be one of the commonest associated cofactors. This study was aimed to determine association of anemia in children with lower respiratory tract infections.Materials and Methods: The retrospective study was done over a one-year period for children under 5 years of age, admitted in Pediatric Ward of a tertiary Hospital in Lalitpur. The study included 100 diagnosed cases of lower respiratory tract infections as per WHO criteria and 100 age and sex matched patients who did not have respiratory complaints as controls, excluding prematurity, chronic diseases, malnutrition and severe systemic illness. Appropriate clinical history, examination routine investigations like hemoglobin, peripheral smear, and Chest X-ray were included.Results: The age distribution maximum children were in the age group of 3 months to 23 months with significant association with prevalence of both pneumonia (p value 0.005) and anemia (p value 0.002). Anemia was found to be a significant risk factor for LRTI (p value < 0.001) with odds ratio of 2.68 and 95% CI (1.51 – 4.75).Conclusions: Anemia was significantly found to be associated with lower respiratory tract infections and these children were found to be 2.68 times more susceptible to lower respiratory tract infections. Early diagnosis and prevention of anemia is thus important to reduce the incidence of lower respiratory tract infections in children.Nepalese Medical Journal. vol.1, No. 1, 2018, page: 5-8

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