Incidence of Sepsis in Children Under 5 Years Old Within Kirkuk Province

Objectives: Medical researches on septicemia, particularly, in most susceptible age
group of children i.e. newborns and young infants in Iraq are scanty. The aim of this
study is to assess the incidence of blood poisoning via hematological parameters in
children under 5 years old within Kirkuk Province. Methodology: Only 120 children
aged 1-60 months admitted to hospital on suspicion of blood poisoning were selected
and compared with other 40 healthy children of similar ages used as control. Results:
Almost 42.5% of suspected cases admitted to hospital were diagnosed sepsis positive.
Over 80% of affected sepsis cases were in children aged 1-18 months old but dropped
down as the age advanced. The main blood parameters i.e. leucocytes (WBC),
erythrocytes (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb%), Lymphocytes (L), Blood platelets (PLT) were
significantly (p≤0.05-0.0001) affected up and down in sepsis patients in comparison
with counterpart children. Novelty: It is concluded that the newborn and infants are
more susceptible to infection than older ages due to the immaturity of the immune
system in these babies, artificial rather than breast feeding, negligence and inexperience
of mothers and deficiency of hygienic parameters applied. Early and regular health
checkup of newborn babies under 5 years old by pediatricians deems mandatory to
promote health measurements and reduce children mortality.