[Risk factors for persistent diarrhea in hospitalized children]

A case control study was done among prospectively hospitalized children aged 1-24 months. The aim of the study was to identify the risk factors associated with persistent diarrhea in children. Sixty one children with diarrhea persisting for more than 14 days, observed at the hospital, were included in the investigation as cases and 133 hospitalized children with acute diarrhea was studied as controls. The risk factors studied for association with persistent diarrhea were mother's level of education, weight at birth, use of breast feeding, presence of diarrhea during the three months before hospitalization and nutritional status of the children at the moment of the hospitalization. Mother's level of education (OR = 10.62), the frequency of diarrhea during the three months before hospitalization (OR = 3.62), weight at birth (OR = 6.36) and the use of breast feeding as the only source of food intake (OR = 2.30) were found to be associated with long term diarrhea. When evaluated by the Z score of the weight/age (OR = 20.02), weight/length (OR = 21.13) and length/age (OR = 6.64) ratios, there was a positive correlation between the occurrence of diarrhea and the level of malnutrition. It is concluded that persistent diarrhea is strongly associated with undernutrition and with inherent factors related with it.