Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
The frequency of acute respiratory failure is higher in infants and young children than in adults.Acute
respiratory failure remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality for children .
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
One hundred and twenty children under the age of 15 years presented with respiratory failure and
admitted to RICU in Children Welfare Teaching Hospital and Surgical Specialty Hospital in Medical
City - Baghdad in the period from the 1st of May -2003 to the 30th of June 2005 were enrolled in a
descriptive study.
RESULTS:
Seventy nine (65.83%) cases were males and 41 (34.17%) were females. Male / female ratio was
1.93:1.The mean age was 30.21 months, 35 (29.16%) cases were neonates. Sixty eight (56.7%) cases
were from urban areas and 52 (43.3%) were from rural areas. Seventy eight (65%) children were
admitted for medical diseases and 42 (35%) were admitted for surgical problems. The most common
medical causes were respiratory (50%) followed by neurological (37. 17%).The most common
respiratory cases were bronchiolitis (28.2%) and most common neurological cases were Guillain- Barre
Syndrome (58.6%).The majority (90.47%) of surgical cases were admitted post-operatively. The
average duration of stay in RICU was 9.71 days. Fifty three patients (44.17%) survived and 67
(55.83%) died.
CONCLUSIONS:
The most common age group admitted to RICU is infancy, medical cases are more commonly admitted
than surgical cases, the most common medical causes of admission are respiratory followed by
neurological causes, the most common respiratory cause of admission is acute bronchiolitis.