European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

THE CLINICAL PROFILE OF PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH ASTHMA: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY AT PULMONARY CLINIC IN QUEEN RANIA HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN (QRCH)

Nisreen Alhmaiedeen MD, Ziad Alkhalaila MD, Zakaria Sharadqa MD, Nuseibah AlRamadina MD* and Muna Dahabreh MD.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Asthma is the most common chronic disorder of childhood and it is a complex condition characterized by the presence of chronic inflammation in the lower airways giving rise to various respiratory symptoms. The clinical profile of each patient with asthma differs in terms of age at presentation, gender, clinical symptoms, and risk factors like atopy. Aim: To study the clinical profile of patients with bronchial asthma and the risk factors for pediatric asthma in Queen Rania hospital for children. Material and Methods: The study was conducted on 100 pediatric patients of both sexes, diagnosed with bronchial asthma and were started on controller therapy. The clinical assessment was performed in the pediatric pulmonology clinic retrospectively over one year using a standardized questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained prior to the study. Results: A total of 100 patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma were included in this study, the age of the patients ranged from 6 to 14 years, and the median age of the study population was 9 years, the majority of patients were males (58%). Of our 100 patients, 42 (42%) patients gave history of allergic rhinitis, 12 (12%) patients gave history of food allergy, and 46 (46%) had no atopy. Spirometry was done for all of our patients, 8 (8%) of them had FEV1 measurment below 85%, 4 (50%) of them had allergic rhinitis, 2 (25%) of them had food allergy, and 2 (25%) of them had both food allergy and allergic rhintis. Patients who gave history of asthma before the age of 6 years were 60 (60%), 30 (50%) of them had history of allergic rhinitis, 10 (16.7%) of them had history of food allergy, 9 (15%) of them had history of both food allergy and allergic rhinitis, 11 (18.3%) of the patients were not known to have allergic rhinitis or food allergy. Out of our 100 patients, severe asthma was diagnosed in 16 (16%) patients, of those 16 patients 4 (25%) patients had allergic rhinitis, 2 (12.5%) patients had food allergy, and 10 (62.5%) patients had both allergic rhinitis and food allergy, Frequency of exacerbations was found to be highest among patients that have allergic rhinitis and food allergy with a median of 8 exacerbations/year. Conclusion: The study found a correlation between the presence of atopy in pediatric asthma patients and the severity of symptoms, persistence of asthma symptoms, and low spirometry measures of FEV1.

Keywords: Asthma-pediatric asthma, Allergic rhinitis, Food allergy, Forced expiratory volume FEV1, Radioallergosorben test (RAST).