There are few published studies on prevalence of allergic rhinitis in preschool children. The aims of this study were to verify the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR) symptoms in the first year of life adding supplementary questions to the EISL instrument. A cross-sectional study used Phase III EISL written questionnaire in addition to modified allergic rhinitis ISAAC questions. One thousand and three parents of infants answered the questionnaire: 484 (48.3%) had at least one sneezing, or a runny or blocked nose episodes without cold or flu in the first year of life. A quarter of infants had recurrent wheezing (≥3 episodes) and more frequent in the presence of AR symptoms. Physician diagnosis of AR and the use of intranasal steroids and both antihistamines and intranasal steroids were more common among those infants with AR symptoms. The prevalence of AR symptoms was high and starting early in life.

Objective: To determine epidemiological changes in recurrent wheezing among infants in Curitiba, Brazil. Results: Parents of 3,003 infants participated in phase I, and 22.6% of the infants had recurrent wheezing (≥ 3 episodes). After 5 years, 1,003 parents completed the same questionnaire during phase III, and 19.8% of the infants had recurrent wheezing (p = 0.1). There was a reduction in symptom severity (p = 0.001) and number of emergency department visits (p < 0.001), but not in number of hospitalizations (p = 0.12). Physician-diagnosed asthma was more frequent in phase III (p = 0.03). Conclusions:There were no changes in the prevalence of recurrent wheezing in infants, but there was an increase in physician-diagnosed asthma and a reduction in severity, which, however, did not affect the rate of hospitalizations.J Pediatr (Rio J). 2011;87(6):547-50: Asthma, infant, prevalence, wheezing. ResumoObjetivo: Verificar mudanças na epidemiologia da sibilância recorrente em lactentes de Curitiba (PR). Método: Estudo transversal com aplicação do questionário Estudio Conclusões:Não houve mudança na prevalência de sibilância recorrente em lactentes, mas ocorreu redução na gravidade, embora sem afetar o nível de internações e com aumento do diagnóstico de asma pelos clínicos.J Pediatr (Rio J). 2011;87(6):547-50: Asma, criança, prevalência, sibilo. Recurrent wheezing in infants: epidemiological changes IntroduçãoA prevalência de doenças alérgicas na população pediá-trica vem sendo amplamente estudada nos últimos anos. Na comparação das fases I e III do International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), realizada com intervalo de pelo menos 5 anos entre as fases, houve aumento na prevalência de asma em escolares e adolescentes na maioria dos centros participantes 1 . Apesar de o Brasil apresentar altas prevalências de asma e de sintomas relacionados, na fase III do ISAAC, a maioria dos centros evidenciou redução desses índices, tanto em escolares quanto nos adolescentes, e os ní-1. Pós-doutorando, Saúde da Criança e do Adolescente, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, PR. Pesquisador associado, Serviço

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BackgroundParacetamol (PCM) and antibiotic (ATB) use have been associated with risk for wheezing and asthma in children. The aim of this study was to verify the association of recurrent wheezing (≥3 episodes) in infancy and use of ATB or PCM in the first year of life.MethodsCross-sectional study using a standardized and validated questionnaire (EISL: Estudio Internacional sobre Sibilancias en Lactantes) with questions: Has your baby had wheezing or whistling in the chest area or bronchitis in the first 12 months of life? Has your baby had 3 or more wheezing episodes in the first year of life? How often has your baby used antibiotics in the first year of life? How often has your baby used paracetamol in the first year of life? Parents of infants, ages 12 to 15 months that attended to Health Centers for routine immunization were interviewed between September 2009 to September 2010 (EISL Phase III). Risk was demonstrated using Odds ratio and 95% CI.ResultsOne thousand and 3 parents participated in the survey and 19.8% of infants had recurrent wheezing starting at 6.1 ± 3 months. The use of PCM was not related to the presence of recurrent wheezing [No PCM (OR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.38-2.19; P = 0.83), PCM 1–3 times (OR = 1.21; 95% CI, 0.77-1.91; P = 0.4), PCM 4–6 times (OR = 1.21; 95% CI, 0.77-1.9; P = 0.41) and PCM ≥7 times (OR = 0.76; 95% CI, 0.51-1.13; P = 0.17)], while more frequent use of ATB reduced the risk of recurrent wheezing in the first year of life [No ATB (OR = 2.18; 95% CI, 1.35-3.51; P = 0.001), ATB 1–3 times (OR = 1.39; 95% CI, 0.93-2.07; P = 0.1), ATB 4–6 times (OR = 0.37; 95% CI, 0.22-0.62; P = 0.001) and PCM≥7 times (OR = 0.22; 95% CI, 0.07-0.66; P = 0.001)].ConclusionsThe frequent use of ATB reduced the risk of recurrent wheezing in the first year of life unlike PCM that was not associated with recurrent wheezing in this study population.