Abstract
Pneumonia is one of the major public health problems in children under five years of age. The aim of this study was to analyze the time, place, and characteristics of the distribution of pneumonia in hospitalized children under five years of age at the Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital (DZH) in Nepal. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at DZH from July 16, 2008 to August 17, 2011 for hospitalized children under five years of age and diagnosed with pneumonia. The main bacterial cause of pneumonia was Streptococcus pneumoniae and the main viral cause was Respiratory Syntical Virus (RSV). The majority of children admitted for treatment of pneumonia were males (60%), from upper class ethnic groups, and common among those aged 29 days to one year (49.1% of overall pneumonia cases). Data from this study show that pneumonia episodes in DZH occurred throughout the year with a sharp increase in the occurrence at the end of August to September. More cases were recorded during the rainy seasons and winter months in all three study years. The cases were from households most concentrated in Baglung municipality where the hospital is located. Pneumonia was found in higher proportions among hospitalized male children, those aged 29 days to one year, and in upper ethnic groups, during the rainy seasons and in winter months, and among local populations near the hospital in the rural western region of Nepal. Strengthening community-based case management, prevention strategies, and health care delivery system would help reduce pneumonia cases and the overall burden associated with it.
Highlights
Pneumonia is one of the major public health problems in children under five years of age
A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out by accessing Health Management Information System (HMIS) register and patient records at Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital (DZH) from July 16, 2008 to August 17, 2011 for hospitalized children under five years of age and diagnosed with pneumonia based on the International Classification of Diseases 10 (ICD-10) version 2008
A total of 772 children under five years were diagnosed with pneumonia from July 16, 2008 to August 17, 2011 at DZH
Summary
Pneumonia is one of the major public health problems in children under five years of age. It is an infection of lungs and most commonly caused by viruses or bacteria and spreads by direct contact with infected people [1]. Pneumonia kills more children under five years of age than any other illness in the world [4]. According to World Health Organization (WHO) [6], ‘‘more than 150 million episodes of pneumonia occur every year among children under five in developing countries, accounting for more than 95% of all new cases worldwide’’. The estimated incidence of pneumonia in children under five in the South-East Asia is 0.36 episodes per child, per year [2]. The report further states that the incidence of pneumonia per thousand under five year children was 246
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