Objective: Diarrhea is a prevalent disease among children, and notoriously lethal if treated
inadequately. According to Basic Health Research 2018, prevalence of diarrhea in children
under 5 years old is 11.7% in East Nusa Tenggara. Specifically, diarrhea was reported to be
the cause of illness in 88.7% infants and 88.4% in children under 5 years old in Manggarai
Regency, East Nusa Tenggara during 2011 to 2015 based on Manggarai District Level
Health Office. This study was conducted to determine the profile of acute diarrhea in the
pediatric ward of St. Rafael General Hospital Cancar, Manggarai Regency.
Method: This was a cross-sectional study with total sampling method involving 166 children
aged 0 to 14 years old who were hospitalized due to diarrhea between April 2016 and April
2019.
Result: The most prevalent age group was 0-24 months (68.7%), dominated by male (88%),
with mild-moderate dehydration status (81.3%). Mean length of stay was 2.14 ± 1.185 days.
Most patients’ nutritional status was normal (84.3%). However, of those who had data for
body length/height, 15% were stunted. Stool analysis was performed on 141 patients, of
which 47% positive for amoeba, 12.6% positive for helminths, and only 16.3% were normal.
In 100 children aged 0-24 months with available stool analysis, 53 were positive for amoeba
and only 21 samples were normal. Anemia was the most common comorbidity (33.1%),
followed by upper respiratory infection (20.5%), febrile seizures (11.4%), and pneumonia
(6.6%).
Conclusion: Diarrhea in children of Manggarai Regency deserves special attention due to
high prevalence of amebic infection. Further study is needed to determine the underlying risk
factors, one of which includes the sanitation quality in the area. Washing hands, proper
cooking, and consuming pure drinking water are crucial and should be promoted to parents
to prevent recurrent infection and thus improve quality of life.