CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND COMORBID DISEASES OF PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH ALLERGIC RHINITIS IN SIVAS

Material and Methods: The medical records of 874 children (aged 0 to 18 years) diagnosed with allergic rhinitis between March 2019 and February 2020, were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: The median age of 874 AR patients was 8.3 (5.1-12.2) years, and 478 (54.7%) were male. AR was most commonly diagnosed in children aged 6 to 12 years (40.8%). 42.2% of AR patients had moderate-to-severe persistent AR. The most common complaints were nasal obstruction (86.3%) and rhinorrhea (84.3%). Nasal obstruction (96.4%) was the most common symptom in moderate-to-severe AR patients, while sneezing (46%), and rhinorrhea (88%) were most common in mild AR patients. The most frequent comorbidities were rhinosinusitis (42.7%), conjunctivitis (39.7%), asthma (36.4%), atopic dermatitis (25.7%), sleep disturbance (24.7%). Overall, patients with persistent, moderate-to-severe AR (87.5%, p = 0.004) were more likely to present comorbidities, except for atopic dermatitis (23.6%, p = 0.210) and oral allergy syndrome (0.8%, p = 0.244). Sensitization to mold (82.1%, p 0.001) and polysensitization (59.3%, p 0.001) were associated with moderate-to-severe persistent AR.

Conclusion: Our study revealed that 42.2% of AR patients presented with the moderate-to-severe persistent disease in the pediatric population in Sivas. Rhinosinusitis and conjunctivitis were the most common comorbidities. The likelihood of comorbidities, particularly respiratory comorbidities, was higher in patients with moderate-to-severe, persistent AR. Mold sensitization and polysensitization were significantly associated with the severity of AR. Keywords : Allergic rhinitis, comorbidity, rhinosinusitis, mold, children