Clinical Profile of Preschool wheeze in Tamil Nadu: A Hospital Based Cross sectional study

Background: Preschool wheeze is the wheeze occurring among children aged under the age of five years. Wheezing observed among preschool children has shown a wide heterogenicity were the long-term prognosis ranges from complete recovery to recurrent asthma. Persistent or recurrent wheeze among preschool children is observed among 60% of early wheezers. The present study was undertaken to assess the clinical profile and associated risk factors of pre-school wheezer among the given study population. Material and Methods: This study was a hospital based cross-sectional study conducted in Department of Pediatrics, K. A. P. V. Government Medical College & M.G.M.G.H, Trichy. The study was conducted on 50 pediatric patients aged between 3 to 5 years of age. Informed consent from the parents or primary caregivers of the infants prior to initiation of the study. Data was entered an analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 21.0) software package. Results: In the present study, we observed that majority were males belonging to urban areas. Fever was significantly higher among the preschool wheezers. Early exposure to cow’s milk in infancy significantly increased the incidence of preschool wheeze. Rhinitis and viral upper respiratory infections were significantly more prominent among preschool wheezers. Conclusion: The present study concludes that preschool wheeze is a multifactorial condition predominantly influenced by infectious and allergic factors. Fever and viral upper respiratory infections were found to be significant clinical predictors, emphasizing the role of infections in triggering wheezing episodes. Early exposure to cow’s milk and the presence of rhinitis were also identified as potential significant risk factors.

Keywords: Preschool wheeze, Allergen sensitization, Viral, Pediatric pulmonology, Wheezing.