Treating Coexisting Sinusitis –Is It Beneficial In Treating Childhood Asthma?
286-288
Correspondence
Devaki P R,
Assistant Professor, Dept.Of Physiology,
F-1, A Block,Anandham Apartments,Solomon
Colony Road, Lakshmipuram, Chrompet,
Chennai 600044, India.
Phone: 9150051572
E-mail: drvaithee@yahoo.com
Background: Asthma frequently co-exists with other conditions like sinusitis, otitis media, allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis. Sinusitis frequently triggers and affects the severity of asthma. Hence, it is necessary to diagnose and treat co morbid conditions like sinusitis.
Aim and objective: To determine the effect of the treatment of sinusitis on childhood asthma (with regard to its severity) and to measure the changes in the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) values as an objective evidence for the improvement of the disease.
Materials and methods: Two hundred and thirteen asthmatic children with symptoms which were suggestive of sinusitis, of the age group of 5-12 years were recruited for the study. They were graded for the severity of asthma on the basis of their clinical symptoms and their PEFR values. Sixty four children were diagnosed to have co-existing sinusitis, based on their clinical symptoms and on the findings of nasal scopy and radio imaging. These sixty four children were started on the treatment for sinusitis, along with asthma medication for three weeks. In the fourth week, again these children were evaluated for the severity of asthma, based on their clinical features and their PEFR values .
Results: After one month, the case load in grade II and grade I increased, while there was a decrease in the case load in grade III and grade IV, since the children with higher severity had shown improvement and as they had moved down to the lower grades of severity. As compared to the basal values, the mean PEFR, at 1 month, showed a statistically significant increase, thus providing an objective evidence for improvement.