Lack of control of severe asthma is associated with co-existence of moderate-to-severe rhinitis

• Published in: Allergy (Copenhagen) 2008-05, Vol.63 (5), p.564-569
• Main Authors: Ponte, E.V, Franco, R, Nascimento, H.F, Souza-Machado, A, Cunha, S, Barreto, M.L, Naspitz, C, Cruz, Á.A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adrenal Cortex Hormones - therapeutic use; Adult; Anti-Asthmatic Agents - therapeutic use; Asthma; Asthma - drug therapy; Asthma - physiopathology; Asthma - prevention & control; Comorbidity; Correlation analysis; diagnosis; Emergency Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; predictor; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Respiratory Function Tests; rhinitis; Rhinitis - diagnosis; Rhinitis - physiopathology; severity; Severity of Illness Index; Skin Tests; Steroids; Surveys and Questionnaires; treatment
• ISSN: 0105-4538; 1398-9995
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2007.01624.x

Retrospective studies provide evidence that rhinitis is associated with more severe asthma. The aim of this study was to evaluate prospectively whether rhinitis is a predictor of increased asthma severity. Five hundred and fifty-seven patients with severe asthma were enrolled. During 1 year of follow-up, each patient was evaluated every 3 months with a record of emergency room visits and supply of topical corticosteroids for asthma and rhinitis. In the 1 year of follow-up visit, the patients were checked for rhinitis diagnosis, severity and answered questionnaires for asthma symptoms and quality of life. Eighty-two (15%) patients had no rhinitis, 299 (54%) had mild rhinitis and 176 (31%) moderate/severe rhinitis. In logistic regression models, moderate/severe rhinitis was a predictor for any emergency room visit in the follow-up period [3.83 (2.00-7.35)], for the presence of uncontrolled asthma after 1 year of follow-up [12.68 (1.73-92.85)], for