Asthma in Thai children: A study of 2000 cases

Abstract

Two thousand Thai children with asthma were studied prospectively. Boys were more frequently affected than girls, whith the ratio of 1.54:1. Fifty percent of patients developed their first attacks within the first 2 years of life. Attacks during the night were common and the seasons in which attacks usually occurred were the winter and the rainy season. Viral respiratory infections were the most common precipitant of attacks. The majority of the cases (61.25%) were moderately severe, while 29.15% of cases were mild and 9.60% of cases were very severe. Among our patients, 32.45% had been hospitalized with asthma and 6.85% had received corticosteroid treatment for asthma. In this study, 63.15% of cases had asthma associated with other allergic diseases, and 79.25% had family history of allergic diseases. Absolute blood eosinophil counts of less than 500 cells/mm 3 were found in 39.8% of patients. Positive skin tests to important antigens were noted in 93.7% of cases, and these were house dust, epidermals, house dust mite, molds, weeds, cockroach, grasses, kapok, and foods.