Hospitalizations and deaths caused by diarrhea in children five years old and younger at four hospitals in Haiti, 2010-2012

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014 Feb;90(2):291-3. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0370. Epub 2013 Dec 16.

Abstract

Worldwide, diarrhea is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in children; however, there are few data on the burden of diarrheal disease in Haiti. We conducted a retrospective review of hospital discharge registries from 2010 to 2012 in the pediatric wards of four Haitian hospitals and recorded the number of all-cause hospitalizations and deaths as well as diarrheal hospitalizations and deaths by age (≤ 2 and 3-5 years) and epidemiological week. Diarrhea was associated with 3,582 (33.7%) of 10,621 hospitalizations and 62 (11.5%) of 540 in-hospital deaths in children ≤ 5 years old. Of these children, 88.5% and 96.8%, respectively, were among children ≤ 2 years old. The highest proportions of diarrhea-associated hospitalizations occurred from January to April. At four Haitian hospitals over a 3-year period, during which time a major epidemic of cholera occurred, diarrheal disease in children ≤ 5 years was a major contributor to pediatric hospitalizations and mortality.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Child, Preschool
  • Cholera / epidemiology
  • Dehydration / epidemiology
  • Diarrhea / epidemiology*
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Gastroenteritis / epidemiology
  • Haiti / epidemiology
  • Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Morbidity
  • Retrospective Studies