Spectrum of paediatric diseases in south Islamic Republic of Iran

ABSTRACT

The results of an inpatient and outpatient review of paediatric diseases in the south of the Islamic Republic of Iran are presented. Male patients outnumbered females for both outpatients and inpatients [1.31 and 1.41 respectively]. More sick infants than preschoolers or school-aged children visited the paediatrician's office, especially in spring and summer. Infectious diseases outnumbered noninfectious diseases, particularly in autumn and winter and consisted mostly of viral illnesses. Respiratory illnesses comprised more than half of all outpatient childhood diseases. About 45% of children admitted to hospital were infants. Half of the children admitted had failure to thrive and 3.5% were severely malnourished. Infectious diseases were the most prevalent paediatric disease in hospital, followed by neoplastic and blood diseases respectively