| dc.description.abstract | Background: Asthma causes more serious impacts in children, like increasing the
number of hospital admissions, reduced quality of life of the child and reduced
number of school days. The presence of comorbidities and food allergies worsen
asthma complicating the diagnosis, management, and treatment outcome of
asthmatic patients. Objective: The major objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of
comorbidities and food allergies amongst asthma Kawolo General Hospital. Methodology: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study and was carried
out at Out Patient Department, Kawolo General Hospital. A semi- structured
interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. A study
population size of 157 patients was interviewed. The sample size of the study was
160 participants. The researcher utilized a systematic sampling procedure to
select the respondents. Categorical data was displayed by Bar graphs and pie
charts. A written informed consent was obtained before collecting data and
participation in the study was voluntary. Results: During this study, 157 participants participated in the study giving a
response rate 98.1%. Majority of the respondents’ children were males (50.3%). The mean age of the children was 3.56 years with the oldest at 5 years and the
youngest at 6-month-old. Majority of respondents 97 (61.8%) reported that their
children reacted to foods with most of them reacting to children were children
were Soya 27 (27.8%), cow’s milk 18(18.5%), eggs 14(14.4%) and meat13 (13.4%). The prevalence of commodities among asthmatic children was 56.1% and the
most prevalent 27 (30.3%), dysfunctional breathing 19 (21.3%), GERD 12 (13.5%)
and respiratory obstructive disease 10 (11.2 %). However, only 26(27.4%) of the
children had ever been admitted due to the comorbidities and spent a maximum of
3-6 days accounting for while admitted to the hospital
Conclusions: The prevalence of food allergies among asthmatic children below 5
years was high in Kawolo Hospital, with Soya and Allergic rhinitis being the most
prevalent food allergy and comorbidity associated with asthmatic children
respectively. Recommendations: Regular screening of comorbidities of asthma among all
asthmatic children by clinicians. Parents and caretakers of asthmatic children
should introduce new foods to asthmatic children cautiously to avoid development
of severe allergic reactions. The government should equip health workers with in
service trainings, diagnostic and treatment material for easy recognition and
management of both food allergies and commodities respectively | en_US |
