Prevalence and clinical characterization of Kaphaja kasa in children

Introduction: Recurrent respiratory illnesses and cough are the very frequent reasons for which pediatricians help is sought for. Wet cough with wheezing is the cardinal feature seen in kaphaja kasa. Ayurveda gives excellent remedies for the management of recurrent respiratory illnesses including cough. Though Ayurveda pediatricians frequently manage kaphaja kasa in their office practice but studies highlighting its prevalence and clinical characterization are not published. The purpose of this study was to find out the prevalence and clinical profiling of Kaphaja kasa in children of 1 to 15years of age at Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara institute of Ayurveda teaching hospital (SDMIA and H), Bengaluru. Materials and methods: A retrospective study was done in 5898 children health seekers who attended outpatient department of Kaumarabhritya (Ayurveda Pediatrics) over a period of one year from November 2017 to October 2018. The 12 months data retrieved from the ERPMS software used for documentation of health seeker’s details. The presenting features influences of age, gender and socioeconomic status were used for categorization and discussion in this study. Results: This study showed 33.13% (1954) of children between 1 to 15years had Kaphaja kasa. Among them 63.05% were male children and rest were females (36.95%). Age group who suffered most was 1 to 5 years. The most presenting features were Kasa (wet cough-100%), Ghana snigdha shveta kapha (thick white sticky sputum-69.03%), Pratishyaya (Running nose-46.00%), Ghurghurka shabda (audible wheezes- 43.32%), Shvasa (dyspnea-41.81%) and least was Chardi (vomiting-2.09%). This study can be used as epidemiological data for the further studies etiological profiling and clinical effectiveness of Ayurveda intervention. Conclusion: prevalence of Kaphaja kasa was found to be 33.13% in children 1 to 15years. Clinical characterization of kaphaja kasa was done based on the percentage of signs and symptoms presented.