A cross sectional observational study of severity of allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma

• Published in: International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Vol. 6; no. 3; p. 547
• Main Authors: Kambatatti Shekharappa, Munish, Urs, Rohini D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 24.02.2020
• ISSN: 2454-5929; 2454-5937
• DOI: 10.18203/issn.2454-5929.ijohns20200633

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma are chronic diseases that often coexist and whose prevalence is increasing day by day. Uncontrolled allergic rhinitis may be associated with worsening of asthma and hence optimal treatment of AR may improve the coexisting asthma. The objective of the study was to study the severity of allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 60 patients, at our Institute from November 2017 to June 2019 who were clinically diagnosed to have AR and asthma. Patients were evaluated by proper history taking, in detailed clinical examination and diagnostic nasal endoscopy and spirometry.   Results: In our study out of 60 patients, majority fell in 20 to 40 age group. According to allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma (ARIA) classification 10 (17%) had mild intermittent AR, 12 (20%) had mild persistent AR, 5 (8%) had moderate/severe intermittent AR and 33 (55%) had moderate or severe persistent AR. In case of moderate/severe persistent AR: 4 had intermittent, 9 had mild persistent, 10 had moderate persistent and 10 severe persistent asthma. Spearman’s rank correlation was done between severity of AR and severity of asthma, spearman’s rho: 0.365, p<0.004 was significant. Conclusions: We noted that as the severity of allergic rhinitis increased, severity of asthma also increased, which was a linear correlation.