A study of acute flaccid paralysis cases reported from a tertiary care hospital in Delhi

Background: As many countries including India become polio-free, Guillain–Barre syndrome (GBS) becomes the most commoncause of the acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). Objective: To describe the socio-epidemiology and causes of AFP cases reported from atertiary care hospital in Delhi. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study based on record review of thecase investigation forms of AFP cases reported from January 2011 to December 2013. Results: Total 187 cases of AFP were reportedduring the study period. Majority (54.01%) of the cases were male. The mean age was 5 years 3 months (range - 1 month to 13 years8 months). The age group most commonly affected was 5-12 years (43.32%) followed by 2-5 years (32.62%). Most (88.24%) of thecases belonged to low socio-economic status, with 79.68% of the cases from an urban area. Investigations were done within 48 h of thedate of notification by medical personnel in 94.65% of cases. Two stool specimens were collected within 7 days of onset of weakness in94.12% of cases and stool condition was good in all collected specimens. None of the stool samples tested positive for wild poliovirusesand vaccine derived poliovirus. Non-polio enterovirus was isolated in 15 cases (8.02%) while results were not mentioned in 12 cases(6.42%). In six cases, vaccine virus was isolated. The most common cause of AFP was GBS (32.08%) followed by isolated facial palsy(8.56%) and viral myalgia (6.95%). Conclusion: GBS was most common cause of AFP followed by isolated facial palsy. The slum areaand migratory population need more attention as the majority of AFP cases were from low socio-economic status family