A two year retrospective review of reasons for pediatric admission to Chiro Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: The health and well being of children is of a major importance. Even though much activity and effort is directed towards promoting children's health there is scarcity of information on child health morbidity in this country. The objective of this study was to review pediatric admission and discharge records of Chiro Hospital, East Ethiopia.
METHOD: A two-year retrospective record analysis of pediatric ward admission and discharge of Chiro hospital during September 2000 - August 2002 was conducted A record book of pediatric ward of the Hospital was reviewed using pre-tested format. The main diagnosis, cause of admission and death, personal characteristics and length of stay was included in the analysis. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 11. computer statistical software. RESULT: Nine hundred and sixty three pediatric patients were admitted to the hospital within the two years Period. Most common diagnosis leading to pediatric admission were diseases of respiratory system 215 (22.9%) and infective and parasitic diseases (22.9%). The three most common infections: pneumonia 368 (39.2%), malaria 140 (14.9%) and tuberculosis 103 (10.9) were more common among male than female children, but no statistical difference was observed between the ten common infectious diseases and sex of the children (P>0.5). More death was observed in males 50 (5.3%) than females 32 (3.4%). Twenty-eight (34.2%) of the deaths occurred within 48 hours and (39.0%) died after 72 hours of admission.
CONCLUSION: The review showed that communicable diseases were the most common causes of admissions (61.3%) and the patterns of morbidity and mortality reflects those of developing countries that call for extensive preventive measures. In view of the limited duration of the study, further review taking five or ten year duration is recommended for planning and strengthen maternal and child health services.