Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of asthmatic children seen at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder associated with variable air flow obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. It is characterised clinically by recurrent episodes of cough, difficulty in breathing and wheezing which resolves spontaneously or with treatment. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of asthmatic children in north western Nigeria have not been reported. Methods: This was a descriptive study in children with asthma aged 4-15 years carried out over a 3 month period Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano. The aim was to determine the socio-demographic and clinical parameters of asthmatic children. Asthmatic children whose parents or guardian consented to the study were recruited consecutively. Their bio-data, sociodemographic and physical examination were documented. Results: Seventy asthmatic children were recruited of which 50(71.4%) were males and 20(28.6%) were females, giving a male: female ratio of 2.5:1. Insecticide was the commonest asthma trigger (64.3%) and 26(37.1%) patients belonged to socio economic class III. Mild persistent asthma was the commonest form of asthma severity encountered. There was positive correlation between PEFR and height (r = 0.577, p< 0.0001). Conclusion: Most of the asthmatics children seen at AKTH, Kano were males with mild persistent asthma, had positive family history of atopy and belonged to the middle socio economic class.

Epidemiology, triggers, and severity of childhood asthma in Ilesa, Nigeria: Implications for management and control

“…Overall, male preponderance was noticed among the children with a male-to-female ratio of 1.6:1. This male preponderance in childhood asthma is similarly reported in earlier studies within 5 6 7 22 23 24 25 26 and outside Nigeria. 12 13 However, among adolescents in the study, there was a female preponderance.…”

“…This age distribution is similar to reports by Garba et al . 22 in North West Nigeria. Worthy of note from this study is that 10.0% of the children with asthma were <2 years with youngest study participant being 10-month old.…”

“…This is similarly reported by Garba et al . 22 in Kano where the youngest study participant was 8 months. This underscores the need to have a high index of suspicion and promptly diagnosed asthma in infants and young children if present to ensure good asthma control and improve quality of life in both the child and caregivers.…”

“…7 Also Garba et al . 22 reported that 40.0% of the cohort of children with asthma in Kano, Northwest Nigeria were diagnosed before the 3 rd year of life. These further imply that preschool children should be carefully evaluated for asthma and diagnosed early to improve prognosis and control.…”

Prevalence and pattern of asthma exacerbation in children seen at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu

“…Exacerbations of asthma have been shown to correlate with low temperature and humidity, 14 which is similar to the climate during the early rainy season in our environment. Heavy rainfall associated with thunder has also been associated with increased prevalence of asthma exacerbation.…”