Analysis Of Clinical Cases Of Respiratory Tract Infections At Ikpe Annang General Hospital: Effect Of Time-Related Variables

Abstract

This work was particularly focused on the impact of time-related variables on the incidence of respiratory tract infections at Ikpe Annang General Hospital, Akwa Ibom State using monthly clinical cases of respiratory tract infections spanning from 2013 to 2022. The data were categorized into quarters/seasons of the year and presented on bar charts to assess the magnitude of respiratory tract infections. High prevalent of respiratory tract infections in the first quarter of the year was revealed. Moreover, common cold and bronchitis were the most frequently diagnosed respiratory infections. There were incidences of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in both dry and wet seasons, but LRTIs were very rampant during the wet season. Chi-square tests of independence and correlation matrices were used to determine the interaction between the time-related variables and incidence of respiratory tract infections. The results revealed that respiratory tract infections are associated with the quarters/seasons of the year and that epiglottitis is linked to pharyngitis, while bronchitis is related to tuberculosis.