Socio-Demographic and Clinical Profile of Asthmatic Children as Seen in a Tertiary Health Facility in Sokoto Metropolis Nigeria

Asthma is characterised by chronic airway inflammation with history of respiratory symptoms such as wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough that vary over time and in intensity, together with variable expiratory airflow limitation. In children it contributes significantly to school absenteeism, sleep disturbance, limitation in play activities and parental anxiety. The objective was to determine the socio-demographic and clinical profile of asthmatic children seen at our Tertiary Health facility. Descriptive, prospective cross sectional study of asthmatic children attending the Pulmonology and Allergy clinic of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto over a 1-year period. Children who assented and whose parents/guardian consented were recruited consecutively. Relevant information was obtained using a questionnaire while data was analysed using SPSS version 20. The level of significance was set at p <0.05. Of the 78 children enrolled, 45(57.7%) were males, 45(57.7%) were under-fives while 44(56.4%) belonged to the high socio-economic class (SEC). No significant association was observed between gender and age group (Fisher’s exact p=0.632), gender and SEC (c2=2.572, p=0.276) nor between age range and SEC (Fischer’s exact p=0.191). Exposure to cold, 41(52.6%), acute respiratory infection (ARI), 38(48.7) and exposure to dust, 23(29.5%) were the most common triggers of asthma exacerbation. Mild intermittent asthma was the commonest form of asthma severity encountered (76.9%). Our study showed a male preponderance with mild intermittent asthma being the most common form of asthma. Majority of our study participants had a positive family history of atopy and belonged to the high SEC.