The Clinical Profile and Risk Factors of Pneumonia in Children

Background: The problem of increased ARI morbidity and mortality has arisen as a result of modernization, industry, and urbanization. There is a deficiency of epidemiological studies on risk factors and treatment. There is a significant vacuum in our understanding of these issues, which must be filled by methodical research. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the risk factors developing pneumonia in our area.Material & Methods:This was a prospective clinical study of pneumonia conducted on 90 children who were admitted to Paediatric ward in Abdul MalekUkil Medical College, Noakhali, Bangladesh in study duration. Epidemiological factors affecting the same were studied and bronchoscopy was done whenever it was needed. A detailed history of the relevant symptoms, such as fever, cough, rapid breathing, refusal of feeds, noisy breathing, bluish discolouration etc., was collected.Results:The most affected children belonged to the age group of 1 year to 3 years (64.9%). Bronchopneumonia (86.2%) was the most common clinical diagnosis made at admission. According to WHO ARI control programme, 28.7% had pneumonia, 54.3% had severe pneumonia and 17% very severe pneumonia. It was found that younger age group, malnutrition, kutcha house, crowding, poor sanitation facilities, cooking with fuel other than LPG (indoor pollution) and low socio economic status and high respiratory rate were significant risk factors for pneumonia in children.Conclusions:One of the leading causes of mortality and death in children is particularly pneumonia. In newborns and preschool children, bronchopneumonia is the most common symptom.

[Investigation of the safety of prescribed drugs during pregnancy]

This study was undertaken to assess the safety of prescribed drugs during pregnancy in five Sudanese cities. The sample consisted of 1012 randomly interviewed pregnant women visited hospitals and private clinics in Khartoum, Wad-Medanj, Hassahisa, Almanagil and Qusty cities .The prescribed drugs were thoroughly investigated and assessed according to the Food and Drug Administration's [FDA] Classification of Drugs in Pregnancy. The study revealed that, the prescribed drugs included dietary supplementations and vitamins 53.07%, anti-infective agents 13.8%, antimalarial drugs 8.96%, antihypertensive agents 3.21%, drugs for nausea and vomiting 4.56%. Regarding the FDA classification of drugs during pregnancy, most of the investigated drugs 779 [43.89%] were classified as class A, followed by 382 [21.52%] drugs which are categorized as class B. Howerever, 280 [15.77%] of drugs had no apparent classification in FDA regimen. Furthermore, a great number of the study population [80.24%] did not use drugs without medical consultation. It can be concluded that most of the surveyed drugs were considered safe in pregnancy. Further qualitative and quantitative studies are needed to assess the safety of prescribed drugs during pregnancy