Clinical outcomes of children with acute asthma and pneumonia in Mulago hospital, Uganda: a prospective study
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Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMC Pediatrics
Abstract
Little attention has been paid to asthma in ‘under-fives’ in Sub-Saharan Africa. In ‘under-fives’, acute
asthma and pneumonia have similar clinical presentation and most children with acute respiratory symptoms are
diagnosed with pneumonia according to the WHO criteria. The mortality associated with acute respiratory diseases
in Uganda is high but improving, dropping from 24% in 2004 to 11.9% in 2012. We describe the immediate clinical
outcomes of children with acute asthma and pneumonia and document the factors associated with prolonged
hospitalization and mortality.
Methods: We enrolled 614 children aged 2 to 59 months with acute respiratory symptoms presenting at the
emergency paediatric unit of Mulago hospital. Clinical histories, physical examination, blood and radiological tests
were done. Children with asthma and bronchiolitis were collectively referred to as ‘Asthma syndrome’. Hospitalized
children were monitored every 12 hours for a maximum of 7 days. Survival analysis was done to compare outcome
of children with asthma and pneumonia. Cox regression analysis was done to determine factors associated with
prolonged hospitalization and mortality.
Description
Keywords
Asthma, Pneumonia, ‘Under-fives’, Duration of hospitalization, Mortality
Citation
Nantanda, R., Ostergaard, M.S., Ndeezi, G. et al. Clinical outcomes of children with acute asthma and pneumonia in Mulago hospital, Uganda: a prospective study. BMC Pediatr 14, 285 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-014-0285-4