ACUTE RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS (ARIS);
Objective: To determine the epidemiological and clinical profile of patientssuffering from acute respiratory tract infections in our area. Study design: Descriptive study,Setting: Frontier Medical & Dental College, Abbottabad, Pakistan. Period: July to December,2014. Materials and methods: All those children who were less than five years of age andclinically diagnosed with acute respiratory tract infections were included in the study. Whereaschildren who were more than five years of age, or suffering from chronic respiratory illnesses,or having congenital disease of respiratory tract were excluded from the study. Structuredproforma was used to record demographic and clinical data. World health organization’s criteriawere used to categorize the cases of ARIs. Results: A total of 229 patients were included inthe study. There were 109 male patients while 120 female patients with male to female ratioof 1:1.18. Maximum number of patients, 43%, was in the age group of 13-24 months followedby 31% in age group of 1-12 months and 15% in the age group of 25-36 months. The majorityof patients presented with shortness of breath as their main symptom followed by sore throatand cough. About 97% of our patients sought treatment from trained health care professionalwhile only 03% resort to self-medication. Conclusion: Acute respiratory tract infections arean important group of diseases in children of less than five years of age. These infectionsmostly affect children between 1-2 years of age. The predominant symptom is shortness ofbreath followed by sore throat and cough. Therefore, any child presenting with these symptomsshould be carefully evaluated for ARIs and their severity using World Health Organization’scriteria. Early diagnosis and treatment will, in turn, improve prognosis and reduce burden onhealth care facilities.