Shazia Zahoor, Muhammad Faheem Afzal, Syed Muhammad Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Ashraf Sultan, Asif Hanif.
Rotavirus diarrhoea in children below 5 years of age.
Pak Paed J Jan ;36(3):128-31.

Background: Diarrhoea is the second leading cause of childhood mortality in children under five years of age. Group A rotavirus is known to be the leading cause of severe diarrhoeal diseases and dehydration which often leads to hospitalization of infants and young children throughout the world. Objectives: To determine frequency and clinical feature of rotavirus acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in children below 5 years of age. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Department of Paediatrics Unit-I, King Edward Medical University/ Mayo Hospital, Lahore. Duration: Six months (November 2009 to April 2010). Sampling Technique: Non probability purposive sampling. Subjects and Methods: After consent from parents, 180 children below 5 years of age, with AWD, were included in the study. Data were recorded for demography, nutritional status, degree of dehydration and presence or absence of rotavirus (ELIZA) in stool. Results: Among 180 children, 48(27%) children had rotavirus AWD. Among these 48 cases, 45(93%) was below 2 years of age. There was male predominance (66.7%). According to Z classification, 6(12.5%) cases had severe malnutrition. Clinically, 25(52.1%) children presented with severe dehydration. Conclusion: The frequency of rotavirus diarrhoea is 27% in children below 5 years of age. It is frequent in malnourished children. Severe dehydration is one of the commonest presentations.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com