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| Egypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol |
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2009 |
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7 |
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59-64 |
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ESP - 51 |
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| Analysis of the filed data of a sample of Egyptian children
with bronchial asthma |
| Elham M. Hossny |
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Zeinab E. Hasan |
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Mohamed F. Allam |
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Ezzat S. Mahmoud |
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| 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
factors, 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 of allergy in general was
evident in about 40% of cases. Viral infection was the most common
precipitating 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. |
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