Complication of measles among admitted patients in Balochistan

Aim: to determine the frequency of complications of measles in admitted patients. methods: this was a cross sectional analytical study conducted at bolan medical complex hospital pediatric unit-i from jaunary 2014 to december 2014. a total of 139 patients of either sex from the ages of 6 months to 14 years who presented with measles or its complications were included withnon-probability convenient sampling technique. detailed history and physical examination encompassing tuberculous exposure,caloric intake and complications such as otitis media,epiglottitis,myocarditis,encephalitis etc was done and findings entered into proforma. patients of the measles with other chronic illnesses like congenital heart disease,chronic renal failure were excluded. results: the male to female ratio was1.3: 1.35.9% were well nourished,34.6% were moderately malnourished and 29.5% were severely malnourished. the patients in the age group 2-5 years were 48.9%,28% were between 6-9 years,15.2% were between 6 months to 1 year and 7.9% were more than 10 years. pneumonia was the most common complication occurring in 46% of patients followed by diarrhoea (23.8%),tuberculosis (22.4%),encephalitis (3.6%),croup (2.8%) and cancrum oris (1.4%). the mortality was 8(5.8%),5 patients died due to encephalitis and 3 due to pneumonia. conclusion: measles and its many complications are still a significant cause of morbidity and mortality.