Types and outcome of Respiratory Diseases among children at a tertiary healthcare facility.

Objective: To find out the types and outcome of respiratory illnesses at a tertiary healthcare facility. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Pediatrics, Rai Medical College Teaching Hospital, Sargodha Pakistan. Period: January 2022 to July 2022. Material & Methods: Admitted children of both genders aged between 1 month to 12 years were analyzed. At the time of admission, characteristics like gender, age, body weight, vaccination status and types of respiratory illness were noted. Duration of hospitalization along with outcome was recorded. Results: During the study period, a total 851 children were admitted. Out of these 851 children, 266 (31.3%) children had some kinds of respiratory illnesses and were further analyzed. There were 148 (55.6%) male children while overall mean age was 3.9±2.6 years. Pneumonia was the commonest respiratory illness noted in 92 (34.5%) children while bronchiolitis was the 2^nd most common respiratory illness observed in 56 (21.1%). A total of 241 (90.6%) children were discharged, 11 (4.1%) referred to other departments, 7 (2.6%) LAMA while deaths were noted in 7 (2.6%). Vaccination status was found to have significant association with the outcome (n=0.0096). Conclusion: Respiratory illnesses contribute significantly to children admitted to resource limited healthcare facilities. Poor immunization status has significant association with mortality among children with respiratory illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]