Journal of Allergy & Therapy

Abstract

Prevalence of Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis According to the 2010 Aria Guidelines 2010 in the School Population of Cartagena City, Colombia

Pablo Andres Miranda-Machado, Hoyos S Bautista D and Llamas A Fabián A

Allergic Rhinitis is a public health problem due to the impact on quality of life and work performance, school and social integration of people who have it. In Latin America it is usually underestimated by patients and underdiagnosed and undertreated by physicians. The initiative Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma, ARIA) has been developed together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and is intended as an updated reference guide, intended for the specialist and the general practitioner. We performed a cross-sectional study in school children in the city of Cartagena, Colombia, to assess the presence of symptoms, clinical diagnosis and treatment of allergic rhinitis during the period, January 2010 to January 2011. The prevalence of symptoms of allergic rhinitis was 17.5%, the prevalence of symptoms of allergic rinoconjuntivis was 15.1%, the prevalence of diagnostic allergic rhinitis was 6.4%, the prevalence of asthma diagnosis in patients with symptoms of allergic rhinitis was 34.1%, the prevalence of drug treatment for allergic rhinitis was 26.7% and the prevalence of use allergen-specific immunotherapy was 31%. Cartagena, Colombia ranks as one of the 5 cities with the highest percentage of people affected by allergic rhinitis and as in other parts of Latin America, allergic rhinitis is usually underestimated by patients and underdiagnosed and undertreated by physicians. Patients are not receiving treatment according to the ARIA Guidelines schemes following the principles of evidence-based medicine. It is important to educate undergraduate and graduate who treat most patients to follow treatment strategy guideline recommendations and to achieve improved quality of life of people with allergic rhinitis.