Spectrum of Pediatric Endocrine Disorders as Seen in Kenyatta National Hospital, a 14-year Retrospective Study From 2008 to 2021

Abstract

Background Pediatric endocrinology is an expanding subspecialty in both developed and developing countries and therefore well-equipped hospitals with relevant resources is mandatory to match the rising needs. There is no data on the characterization of endocrine cases seen in children and adolescents in Kenya at the moment. Broad objective: To determine the spectrum of pediatric endocrine disorders in Kenyatta National Hospital among children and adolescents aged 25 years and below. Study design: This was a 14-year hospital-based retrospective, descriptive study. Study setting: This study was carried out in the pediatric endocrinology unit and records department at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya. The hospital is a tertiary referral and teaching institution that serves as a major patient referral facility receiving patients from all the 47 counties in Kenya. Patients seen in this clinic come as self-referral, internal referral from clinics within the hospital, or from level 4 and 5 county hospitals in the country. The clinic is run every Tuesday by pediatric endocrinologists and has an attendance of approximately thirty clients per day. It also serves as a teaching clinic for medical students, pediatric resident doctors and pediatric endocrinology fellows. Material/participants and methods: This study comprised children and adolescents with endocrine conditions aged 25 years and below seen in the outpatient pediatric endocrinology clinic at Kenyatta National Hospital between January 2008 and December 2021. A search was conducted in the hospital records department using the ICD coding system to yield patient registration numbers. A systematic review of patient files was carried out. Data was obtained from patients’ files by the principal investigator using a structured data collection instrument to seek the following information: Patients’ demographic data, referral source, presenting complaints, diagnosis, time between symptom onset and presentation to hospital and duration in months from last clinical review to determine loss to follow up...