[Asthma phenotype during the first six years of life].
Asthma is one of the main wheezing causes during the first years of life. In our country it is a common respiratory chronic illness but insufficient studies still exist on the asthma phenotypes during the first years of life.


OBJECTIVE
To know the phenotype of asthma in a group of children younger than 6 years old.


METHODS
185 children of both sexes were studied with antecedent of having presented wheezing (tree episodes or more) and it registered data about the antecedents of family and personal allergy, dietary habits during the first year of life, infections, data on the beginning and the evolution of the condition, and they were practiced determinations of peripheral eosinophilia, total serum IgE and gastric gammagram to discard illness for gastroesophageal reflux. All were carried out skin tests for foods and aeroallergens.


RESULTS
In the group of 185 patients of both sexes, they had data that supported the allergic process, in 137. It was correlated the atopy antecedents significantly, positive skin tests, eosinophilia (more than 300), with elevated IgE for the age (p < 0.05). The gastric gamagrama was carried out in 144 patients, of which were positive results for gastroesophageal reflux in 64 (44%) and in 79 (54%) it was reported doubtful or negative. It was related the gastroesophageal reflux presence and the positive skin tests significantly (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The more common phenotype of asthma in our patients corresponds to a wheezing pattern that persist after the 3 years old, in relation to an allergic component. Furthermore in most of those children a positive gastroesophageal reflux was an important finding.
Ocampo Martínez
D M
DM
Servicio de Inmunología Clínica y Alergia, Hospital Regional Lic, Adolfo López Mateos, ISSSTE, México, DF.
Gómez Vera
J
J
Flores Sandoval
G
G
Orea Solano
M
M
D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype