Correlation of weight and hypoxemia in children aged between six months to five years with acute lower respiratory tract infection in a tertiary care hospital
A hospital based prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary carehospital. A total of 200 children admitted with signs of ALRI were included in the study. A portable oximeter was used to measureoxygen saturation with an appropriately sized sensor on the finger or the toe. Weight was recorded on a standardized digital weighing scale and plotted on standard WHO weight for age chart. Chi-square test was used to test the significance.
Results:
Out of 200 children studied hypoxemia was present in 90 children with a percentage of 45% and absent in 110 children with a percentage of 55%. Out of 90 childrenwho had hypoxemia, 40 children had weight less than 3rd centile. Out 110 childrenwho had did not have hypoxemia, only 24 children had weight less than 3rd centile. It was observed that children with Weight for age less than 3rd centile according to standard WHO charts had higher incidence of hypoxemia. This correlation was statistically significant at p value of 0.001.