Characteristics of clinical and diagnostic aspects of seasonal allergic rhinitis in children of Poltava region
Authors:   Poltava State Medical University, Ukraine, Kryuchko T.O. , Shcherbak V.V. ,   Poltava State Medical University, Ukraine, Tkachenko O.Ya. ,   Poltava State Medical University, Ukraine, Bubyr L.M. ,   Poltava State Medical University, Ukraine, Polych T.M. ,   Poltava Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital of Poltava Regional Council, Ukraine
Published: August 2022

The high prevalence of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) among children continues to rise steadily. However, there is not only an increase in the frequency of allergy, as an independent nosology, but also its combination with other atopic diseases. It should be noted that the comorbidity of SAR with asthma, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis significantly impairs the daily activities and quality of children’s life. Purpose - to study the peculiarities of seasonal allergic rhinitis in children on the background of comorbidities depending on the age of the patient and to analyze the structure of pollen sensitization taking into account the retrospective results of skin allergy testing. Materials and methods. For a retrospective study, 890 case histories of children with SAR aged 3-15 years from 2010 to 2020 were selected and analyzed. The inclusion criteria were children with positive skin allergy testing for at least one pollen allergen in the test panel. During the analysis, patients were divided into three age subgroups: preschool children (3-6 years), primary school age (7-10 years) and middle school age (11-15 years). Results. Our results show that the comorbidity of SAR depended in some ways on the age of the child. Thus, among children of the first group the combination of SAR with recurrent obstructive bronchitis and atopic dermatitis was mostly often registered, while in patients of the second and the third groups - with allergic conjunctivitis and asthma. It was also found that the clinical picture of the disease did not differ significantly from the patient’s age and was characterized by moderate severity of allergic rhinitis. The study of the spectrum of sensitization to pollen allergens revealed a significant prevalence of children with hypersensitivity to ragweed allergen. It was found that more than a third of preschool and primary school children were also more likely to be sensitive to wormwood and corn, while middle school children - timothy, fescue, wormwood, ryegrass and cyclachaena. Conclusions. Therefore, the study allowed to establish the features of the clinical course, severity, combination of SAR with other diseases and identify the most etiologically significant pollen allergens, which are a priority in the occurrence of seasonal allergic rhinitis in children of Poltava region. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local ethics committee of all participating institutions. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies. No conflict of interests was declared by the authors. Key words: children; seasonal allergic rhinitis; clinical and diagnostic features; sensitization spectrum.