期刊名称：Egyptian Journal of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
印刷版ISSN：1687-1642
电子版ISSN：2314-8934
出版年度：2009
卷号：7
期号：2
页码：59-64
出版社：Egyptian Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
摘要：Background: Identification of the clinical profile of asthma in a community is crucial to the understanding of the growing disease burden. We sought to evaluate the clinical characteristics and management outcome of a sample of asthmatic children from Cairo city and its suburbs. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the data of 422 consecutively numbered files of asthmatic children from the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Unit of Ain Shams University Children's Hospital. Data collected included the age at onset, duration of follow up, precipitating f actors, feeding history, clinical severity, presence of other allergic diseases and outcome and course of the disease. This is besides the available results of laboratory and imaging studies and the treatment received including the routes and types of therapy. Results: The results revealed that 197 children (46.7%) had bronchial asthma only while 225 (53.3%) had concomitant allergic disorders. Males outnumbered females and urban residents outnumbered suburban and rural residents and all cases belonged to the low and middle social and economic community sectors. A positive family history o f allergy in general was evident in about 40% of cases. Viral infection was the most common p recipitating factor for exacerbations. Mild and moderate persistent asthma were more frequent than the severe variety (15.10%, 10.20%, and 1.50%). Serum total IgE and peripheral blood eosinophil counts were elevated and atopy was evident in most cases. Inhaled corticosteroid therapy was the most commonly prescribed treatment in the current study but compliance was generally poor. Conclusion: Wider scale multi-center studies in Cairo and other localities of Egypt are needed to outline the profile of childhood asthma in the whole country using a population rather than a referral center-based approach
