Assessment of the effect of non-asthmatic allergic rhinitis on pulmonary
functions - A prospective case-control study
Abstract
Introduction Allergic rhinitis, beginning from childhood, is a global
health problem. According to the literature, allergic rhinitis has been
found to be associated with asthma and other allergic manifestations. In
this study we like to find out the significance and prognostic
importance of pulmonary function test (PFT) in allergic rhinitis. Design
and setting: The study was carried out over a period of 2 years, with 63
cases and controls each. Subjects in the age of 20-55 years with
allergic rhinitis and SFAR score of >/=7 were included as a
case. Participants were interviewed and sent for PFT. Controls were
recruited from the retrospective data of healthy individuals with
pulmonary function parameters done for health checkup. These controls
had an SFAR score of <7. Main outcome measures: Clinical data
and PFT of cases and controls was used for the study. SFAR score was
used to recruit the cases and controls. All the data obtained were
analyzed and compared between cases and controls. Results The mean age
of the cases and controls were 33.17 +/- 10.817 and 44.41 +/- 7.4,
respectively. Majority of cases and controls were males (60.3% and
57.1%). A statistically significant difference in FEF25-75% among
cases and controls was noted (p=0.00), thus proving probability of
developing small airway obstruction in subjects with allergic rhinitis.
Conclusion Subjects with allergic rhinitis have a probability of
developing small airway obstruction with subclinical changes, hence
necessitating the need of regular follow-up.