Abstract
BACKGROUND: Anemia is seen in a large proportion of the population especially in developing
countries. It poses a major challenge to improving the health indices especially in the female and
pediatric populations. Anemia causes increased disability, morbidity and mortality. Presence of anemia
prolongs hospital stay and increases the possibility of re-admission. The diagnosis and management of
anemia in hospitalized patients will improve outcomes of this population.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anemia, its etiology and its
association with various risk factors.
STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Medicine, United Medical and Dental College, Karachi
from May, 2016 to December, 2016.
METHODOLGY: All adult patients admitted in the medical wards of Creek General Hospital were
included in the study. Anemia was defined as a hemoglobin of <13g/dl in males and <12g/dl in females.
All anemic patients were taken as cases while non-anemic patients were taken as controls. Critically ill
patients, patients with active bleeding and pregnant women were excluded from the study. The data was
recorded on a detailed proforma, and the etiology, severity, type of anemia and associated factors were
recorded. The data was presented as means with standard deviation for continuous variables and as
percentages for categorical variables. Comparison of different factors with anemia was computed using
SPSS 20.0. Chi-square and student t- test were used and p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS: Around 71% of the patients were found to be anemic. 72.5% of the female population and 67%
of the male population were anemic. The commonest cause of anemia was infection. Majority of the
women had microcytic anemia. There was no relationship of age, income, educational status, number of
dependents and diet on the presence of anemia. In women anemia was significantly related to breast
feeding and parity. Infectious diseases, nutritional deficiency and gastrointestinal loss were the most
common causes of anemia in the studied population.
CONCLUSION: Anemia is very common in hospitalized medical patients. Infection and nutritional
deficiencies are the most cause of this anemia.
Farhat Bashir, Ayesha Nageen, Saera Suhail Kidwai, Shahdil Zulfikar, Sehar Shiraz, Prof. Jamal Ara. (2017) Anemia in Hospitalized Patient: Prevalence, Etiology and Risk Factors, Journal of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Volume-16, Issue-2.
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