• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2011

Purpose : In this study, we listed common diseases in pediatric inpatients and evaluated the distribution of diseases by period and age group, in order to estimate the epidemiologic trend. Methods : Patients who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics between 1997 and 2008 were included. Demographic characteristics, date of admission, and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code of patients were indentified. Study period was divided into two; early (1997-2002) and late (2003-2008), and age of patients were grouped into four; infancy, early childhood, late childhood, and adolescence. Results : A total of 33,513 patients were admitted for 12 years. In the list of ICD code, Pneumonia (J12-J18; 21.2%) was the most prevalent, followed by gastroenteritis (A00-A09; 17.8%), bronchiolitis (J21; 11.9%), and so on. Common diseases ranked from 1 to 10 comprised the majority (79.1%) of all the inpatients. There was increase in the number of inpatients with respiratory infectious disease (bronchiolitis, otitis media, and sinusitis), enlarged lymph node, or impetigo/cellulitis, but decrease in the number of inpatients with aseptic meningitis, intussusceptions, measles, or nephritic/nephrotic syndrome. The distribution of diseases also showed age group-specific difference. Conclusion : The distribution of diseases by period and age group was different. The epidemiologic trend should be considered in developing the management of strategy for the Department of Pediatrics.