ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine frequency of rotavirus infection in children under 2 years of age presenting with acute watery diarrhea at tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatrics, MH Rawalpindi, from Jan to Jun 2016
Material and Methods: Total 246 children, hospitalized with complaints of non-bloody acute watery diarrhea at the time of admission were included. Stool samples were collected and transported to Armed forces institute of Pathology [AFIP] for stool antigen detection for Rotavirus. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Stratification was done and post stratification Chi-square test was applied. A p-value <0.05 was considered as significant
Results: There were 48.8% [120] male and 51.2% [126] female children. Mean no. of stools per day were 6.62 +/- 1.92 in children whose stools for Rotavirus antigen were positive in 174 [70.7%] patients, no. of stools per day was significantly associated with positive results
Conclusion: Rotavirus was found to be positive in majority of children causing substantial morbidity. There was significant association of rotavirus infection with increased no of watery stools per day