Risk factors for hospitalization and death from diarrhea in a public pediatric hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE

This study was carried out in a public pediatric hospital located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the aim of identifying risk factors for hospitalization and/or death due to diarrhea in children.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study included 406 children under three years of age who were seen or admitted for diarrhea from January 1987 to February 1988. The main variable of interest was the outcome of clinical evaluation and subsequent hospitalization, which was classified as follows: 1) outpatient treatment; 2) hospitalization and survival; and 3) death during hospitalization. The chi-square test was used to identify variables (p = < 0.05) that were significantly related to the treatment outcome.

RESULTS

The group was composed by 60.6% males and 39.4% females. A proportion of 26.8% of children was under two months of age, 24.9% was 3-5 months old, 25.9% was 6-11 months old, and 22.4% was 12 months or older. The variables most significantly related to the risk of hospitalization from diarrhea were age, current nutritional status (weight-for-age percentile), and concomitant illness. Variables most significantly associated with risk of death from diarrhea were low birth weight and past hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of this study's results by health services could make a substantial contribution to reducing children's hospitalization and death due to diarrhea in the city of Rio de Janeiro.