Study of prevalence and risk factors associated with respiratory illness in children admitted in a teaching hospital in rural Telangana

Introduction: Acute respiratory tract illness is common in children especially under 5 years of age. Poor hygiene, poor sanitation, over-crowding are the major risk factors for respiratory infections in paediatric age group. Aim of the Study: To study the prevalence and risk factors associated with respiratory illness in children admitted in a teaching hospital in rural Telangana. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital based cross sectional descriptive study done for duration of 2 years from August 2016 to July 2018 in the department of paediatrics at Government Medical College, Nizamabad, Telangana. About 3678 children with respiratory illness aged 2 months to 12 years were included in the study. Results: The prevalence of respiratory illnesses is about 30.65%. Of the 3678 children admitted with respiratory illness majority were among 2 months to 12 months, 38.8% (1428/3678) followed by 35.6% (1312/3678) among 1 year to 5 years. Boys comprised 68.7% (2527/3678) and girls were 31.2% (1151/3678). Based on clinical symptoms, 86.7% of children with respiratory illness had cough. In the present study most common respiratory illness was acute bronchiolitis (38.4%) followed by bronchopneumonia (28.2%), and bronchial asthma in 13.9% cases. Others were 1.7% of foreign body aspirations, 2.7% of bronchiectasis, 7.9% of pleural effusions, 1.1% of aspiration pneumonitis, and 5.7% of pulmonary tuberculosis. Over-crowding and poor sanitation were present in 88.8% of cases. Conclusion: In the present study the prevalence of respiratory illness among children aged 2 months to12 years was about 30.6% and risk factors associated with respiratory illnesses were poor sanitation, overcrowding, and low socioeconomic status.