ABSTRACT
In a retrospective study the authors analyzed the clinical records of 199 children ages one month to 16 years hospitalized, with the diagnosis of intestinal ascariasis, in the Instituto Nacional de Pediatría of México from 1984 to 1999. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the use of anthelmintics drugs as a risk factor of intestinal obstruction by A. lumbricoides. Two groups were made for the study: group A (n=66) of children who presented intestinal obstruction, group B (n=133) children with no complications. A comparative analysis of clinical data of both groups was made by means of chi square with Yates correction and a stratified analysis by means of chi square. Possible confusing elements were overcrowding, age and the use of antiparasitic drugs. The calculus of risk factors for intestinal obstruction by A. lumbricoides was done by means of contingency tables of 2 x 2 and odds ratio with an IC of 95 percent. The significant risk factors were included in a model of logistic regression with an impact variable consting in the presence or absence of intestinal obstruction in order to establish a multivariate model of predictive risk at level of significance of p<0,05