Variability in the Clinical Profile of Children with Asthma Referred to Allergy Clinic: A 10-Year Observation

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease in the paediatric population. Underdiagnosis is a frequent phenomenon and is associated with undertreatment, which results in increased morbidity and mortality. The delay in the diagnosis of asthma reflects problems with the correct implementation of diagnostic goals set by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). The aim of our study was to describe the clinical profile of children referred to the Clinic of Allergic Diseases and subsequently diagnosed with asthma. We evaluated the reasons for referral, demographic data and social data. Material and methods: We analysed a group of 907 children up to 18 years of age diagnosed with asthma at allergy clinic between 2000 and 2009. This was a cross-sectional study to assess the patients’ demographic, social and clinical data. Results: Our study revealed a shift in the clinical profile of children referred to allergy clinics over a period of ten years, subsequently diagnosed with asthma. The profile is characterised by a younger age, a higher incidence of recurrent infections and a lower incidence of wheezing and atopy as the reasons for referral to allergologists. Conclusions: The new clinical profile of children referred to allergologists reveals the necessity of conducting the costly differential diagnosis of asthma at specialist facilities. These data should be taken into account while developing new healthcare strategies in Poland.