Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of asthmatic children seen at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria

Introduction: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder associated with variable air flow obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. It is characterised clinically by recurrent episodes of cough, difficulty in breathing and wheezing which resolves spontaneously or with treatment. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of asthmatic children in north western Nigeria have not been reported. Methods: This was a descriptive study in children with asthma aged 4-15 years carried out over a 3 month period Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano. The aim was to determine the socio-demographic and clinical parameters of asthmatic children. Asthmatic children whose parents or guardian consented to the study were recruited consecutively. Their bio-data, sociodemographic and physical examination were documented. Results: Seventy asthmatic children were recruited of which 50(71.4%) were males and 20(28.6%) were females, giving a male: female ratio of 2.5:1. Insecticide was the commonest asthma trigger (64.3%) and 26(37.1%) patients belonged to socio economic class III. Mild persistent asthma was the commonest form of asthma severity encountered. There was positive correlation between PEFR and height (r = 0.577, p< 0.0001). Conclusion: Most of the asthmaticschildren seen at AKTH, Kano were males with mild persistent asthma, had positive family history of atopy and belonged to the middle socio economic class.