Upper respiratory infection in acute pediatric care in internal conflict, Kosovo, 1999.
Only a few reports focus on health issues among pediatric populations in internal conflicts including care for internally displaced persons (IDPs). This report examined the risk factors for pediatric upper respiratory infection (URI) during the internal conflict in Kosovo that presented at an acute care clinic before the aerial bombardment campaign by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in March 1999. The pediatric clinic was organized and managed by Kinderberg, one of the German humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the town of Vucitrn, 20 km north of the capital of Kosovo in mid-February 1999 at the height of internal conflicts and massive population migration in the area. This report discusses the results of a risk factor analysis for URI including overcrowding, malnutrition, and presence of smokers. A comparison of anthropometric measurements among IDPs and non-IDPs in our clinic populations was conducted to evaluate the state of nutrition in these two groups. There were no significant differences among IDPs and non-IDPs in anthropometric measurements. Smoking and having less than three meals per day were statistically associated with the increased risk of URI. Even during emergency medical interventions, prevention programs, such as smoking cessation and food security, may decrease URI in this pediatric population.
Morikawa
M
M
Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, USA. mmkobe@pol.net
D000208:Acute Disease; D017677:Age Distribution; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000379:methods; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods; D011336:Probability; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014857:Warfare; D015022:Yugoslavia / Q000453:epidemiology