Clinical evolution and nutritional status in asthmatic children and adolescents enrolled in Primary Health Care

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical evolution and the association between nutritional status and severity of asthma in children and adolescents enrolled in Primary Health Care. METHODS A retrospective cohort study of 219 asthmatic patients (3 to 17 years old) enrolled in primary care services (PCSs) in Embu das Artes (SP), from 2007 to 2011. Secondary data: gender, age, diagnosis of asthma severity, other atopic diseases, family history of atopy, and body mass index. To evaluate the clinical outcome of asthma, data were collected on number of asthma exacerbations, number of emergency room consultations and doses of inhaled corticosteroids at follow-up visits in the 6th and 12th months. The statistical analysis included chi-square and Kappa agreement index, with 5% set as the significance level. RESULTS 50.5% of patients started wheezing before the age of two years, 99.5% had allergic rhinitis and 65.2% had a positive family history of atopy. Regarding severity, intermittent asthma was more frequent (51.6%) and, in relation to nutritional status, 65.8% of patients had normal weight. There was no association between nutritional status and asthma severity (p=0,409). After one year of follow-up, 25.2% of patients showed reduction in exacerbations and emergency room consultations, and 16.2% reduced the amount of inhaled corticosteroids. CONCLUSIONS The monitoring of asthmatic patients in PCSs showed improvement in clinical outcome, with a decreased number of exacerbations, emergency room consultations and doses of inhaled corticosteroids. No association between nutritional status and asthma severity was observed in this study.