Epidemiology of Acute Flaccid Paralysis in Hormozgan Province, Iran

Ali Reza Moayedi,Ghasem Ghaedi Hengami,Seyed Hossein Asadi Yousefabad,Ahmadagha Negahi,Mojtaba Salari,Seyed Hossein Saadat,Reza Safari

doi:10.34172/ddj.2021.17

Ali Reza Moayedi, Ghasem Ghaedi Hengami + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.34172/ddj.2021.17

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Abstract

Background: Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) is a syndrome that occurs with the sudden onset of paralysis in any part of the body of infants and children under 15 years old. This study investigated the epidemiology and causes of AFP in patients under 15 years of age admitted to hospitals in Hormozgan province during 2011-2018. Materials and Methods: After receiving the code of ethics, the information of the studied patients was collected by referring to the health center of Hormozgan province and reviewing their records. The corresponding data were gathered using a checklist that included the causes of paralysis, age, gender, place of residence, and involved organs and then analyzed with SPSS software. Results: Out of 121 patients, 58.7% were males. In addition, 69.4% and 21.5% of these patients were in the age groups of 0-5 and 5-10 years, and the remaining cases were in the age group of 10-15 years. In terms of accommodation, 19.8% and 14.9% of patients lived in Bandar Abbas and Minab, respectively. The highest incidence of the disease was 19% and 18.2% in 2013 and 2015, respectively. The most affected organ was 57% of both feet. The most common cause of AFP in this study was Guillain-Barre syndrome (37.2%), followed by transient synovitis (17.4%). Conclusion: Considering the high annual incidence of this disease compared to the standard of the World Health Organization, it is recommended to launch training and vaccination campaigns to reduce the incidence and eradicate this disease.

Highlights

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) is defined as a disease that suddenly happens with paralysis or weakness in a part of the body of a child under 15 years of age [1, 2]
The polio eradication program began in Iran in 1991, and an Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) monitoring program was established by the Iranian government in accordance with WHO guidelines in 1998 [4]
This study was performed to prevent the prevalence of the disease and obtain information on its epidemiology in different years, age groups, genders, and involved areas and organs in patients under 15 years of age admitted to hospitals in Hormozgan province during 2011-2018

Summary

Introduction

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) is defined as a disease that suddenly happens with paralysis or weakness in a part of the body of a child under 15 years of age [1, 2]. In the differential diagnoses of AFP, many diseases have been proposed, the most important of which are poliomyelitis caused by non-polio enteroviruses, Guillain-Barre syndrome, acute axonal neuropathy, and the like. After the eradication of poliovirus, the most common cause of AFP is Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which is an acute or subacute neuropathy that stimulates the immune system and triggers a response, and sensory, motor nerves, which involves autonomy, along with the spinal roots and causes gait disorders [7, 8]. This study was performed to prevent the prevalence of the disease and obtain information on its epidemiology in different years, age groups, genders, and involved areas and organs in patients under 15 years of age admitted to hospitals in Hormozgan province during 2011-2018

Materials and Methods

Results

Conclusion