European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background: Allergic disorders and asthma, both allergic and non-allergic, are the non-communicable diseases with the earliest onset. Their burden is growing, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma are the most prevalent chronic diseases seen in childhood.Asthma was formerly considered to be uncommon in children in LMIC settings, but studies indicate that the burden of childhood asthma in these areas is large and comparable to those in high income countries (HIC).The prevalence of asthma in African children, as assessed by self-reported questionnaires in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) III study, is higher than the global average. Moreover, the prevalence of childhood asthma in LMICs is increasing, in contrast to HIC settings where it has stabilized or is decreasing.Materials and Methods:This is a prospective study and observational study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics at Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital over a period of 1 year. The skin-prick test (SPT) results from very young children with the diagnosis of asthma (2 years) who were referred for testing for aeroallergen sensitization were analyzed within the last 4 years. All children had a history of at least three wheezing attacks with good response to bronchodilators and had been diagnosed with asthma by their referring physicians. Of the entire study group, 90 were skin-prick tested with a standard panel consisting of aeroallergens (full panel group) and children were tested only with a mixture of house dust mite allergens (house-dust mite group), based on the decision of the physician evaluating them at the time. Result: The total number of the patients included in the study was 90 patients, of the 59 (65.6%) male and 31 (34.4%) female. The study group is divided into three age groups, 2-4 Years (31.1%), 5- 7 Years (44.5%) and 8-10 Years (24. 4%).The frequency of each group. Out of 90 children in the study, 63 children were found sensitive to at least one aeroallergen and 27 were no sensitivity for all aeroallergens. Out of the 38 males (60.3%) and 25 (39.7) female sensitive to at least one of the aeroallergens and 17 (62.9%) male and 10 (37.1%) female was no sensitivity for all aeroallergens. Moreover, 28 (44.4%) of patients with positive tests were in the age group 5-7 years and 20 (31.7%) were in the age group of 8-10 Yrs. Only 15 (23.8%) were found in the age group 24 years. The highest prevalence of positive skin reaction was recorded for mite allergens among them Dermatophytosispteronyssinus (49.2%), D. farinae (33.3%).Conclusion: The majority of children with asthma have positive skin prick tests for 1 or more of aeroallergens. House dust mite was the most common positivity aeroallergens. However, there was no statistically significant association of positive skin prick test with asthma control.