Preschool wheeze among a retrospective cohort of Egyptian children

Abstract

the developed world, with even more frequency and severity in the developing countries. Epidemiological studies on this subject in Egypt are lacking. We sought to investigate the frequency and different phenotypes of preschool wheeze (PSW) among a group of Egyptian children and their relation to different risk factors. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 1209 children, aged 6-10 years, recruited from the Outpatients’ Clinics of Ain Shams University Hospitals from March 2019 to March 2021. Children with underlying chronic disease or suspected to be immunodeficient were excluded. The main study tool was a survey composed of 30 questions and presented to the parent/caregiver via direct interviewing by the investigator and included sociodemographic data details of wheezing episodes before the age of 6, wheezing risk factors and comorbidities. Skin prick test (SPT) was done for the prolonged early, persistent early and late onset wheezers, while pulmonary function tests were done for the currently asthmatics patients . Results: History of PSW was positive in 298/1209 (24.6%) of the participants. According to the onset, duration and course of wheezes, preschool wheezers were classified as transient wheezers (10.4%), prolonged early wheezers (3.9%), late onset wheezers (3.2%) and persistent wheezers (7.1%) relevant to the whole cohort. Fifty percent of PSW were multi-trigger wheeze while 39.3% were episodic viral wheeze. Twenty-five patients out of 148 wheezers (16.9%) who underwent SPT were found to be atopic . Conclusion: PSW is commonly reported among Egyptian children, paralleling international reports with transient and persistent early wheezing being the most common phenotypes in Egypt.