PREVALENSI INFEKSI SALURAN PERNAPASAN AKUT PADA BALITA DI RSU BAHAGIA MAKASSAR TAHUN 2019-2021 = PREVALENCE OF ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTION IN TODDLERS AT BAHAGIA GENERAL HOSPITAL MAKASSAR IN THE YEAR OF 2019-2021

Background: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is an infectious disease caused by infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria that often occurs in toddlers. This disease can infect the upper and lower respiratory tract. The mechanism of transmission occurs orally or by inhaling contaminated fluid droplets into the lungs, which then manifests as ARI. ARI cases in toddlers in Indonesia in 2018 reached a value of 93,620 people recorded in the health ministry research report. By province, in South Sulawesi alone ARI cases in toddlers reached a value of 3,269 recorded in the Riskesdas report in 2018.
Aim: To describe the characteristics of the prevalence of ARI in children under 5 years (toddlers) at RSU Bahagia Makassar.
Methods: The research design that will be used is descriptive research that aims to present facts and information with a cross-sectional approach, where variable measurements are carried out once at a certain time. The method chosen for sampling was total sampling in which the researchers took data from all under-five patients with acute respiratory infections who met the criteria. After obtaining the data, the data is then processed and analyzed using Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel and also the Statistical Package for The Social Sciences (SPSS).
Results: This research uses 37 samples. The results of the gender distribution were 23 male patients (62.16%) and 14 female patients (37.84%). The results of the distribution of nutritional status were 0 patients (0%) very underweight, 5 patients (13.51%) underweight, 32 patients (86.49%) normal weight, and 0 patients (0%) overweight. The results of the distribution of immunization status were complete basic immunization according to age for 24 patients (64.86%) and incomplete basic immunization for 13 patients (35.14%). The results of the distribution of the history of birth weight babies are 0 patients (0%) excess birth weight babies, 31 patients (8378%) normal birth weight babies, 6 patients (16.22%) low birth weight babies, 0 patients (0%) very low birth weight babies, and 0 patients 0% extremely low birth weight babies. The results of the distribution of types of microorganisms were viruses in 14 patients (37.84%), bacteria in 23 patients (62.16%), and fungi in 0 patients (0%).
Conclusion: From the results of a study on 37 patients with toddler acute respiratory infections in 2019-2021 at Bahagia General Hospital in Makassar. Male subject is the most common in patients. The majority of patients have normal weight nutritional status and a few have nutritional status that is underweight. Most patients have been given complete basic immunization according to their age, but not a few have also not received complete basic immunization according to their age. Most of the patients had a history of normal birth weight babies and some had a history of low-birth-weight babies. Most infections are caused by bacterial pathogens.

Keywords: Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), Gender, Nutritional Status, Immunization Status, History of Birth Weight Babies, Types of Microorganisms