Avaliação de sinais e sintomas respiratórios em crianças e adolescentes em período escolar

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate the pulmonary function, thoracic mobility and the presence of signs and symptoms of asthma and rhinitis in children and adolescents in school period. Methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive study, conducted between November 2016 and February 2017. It composed of 82 children and adolescents aged 7 to 13 years old from 3 schools Lagarto city-SE. All participants answered the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire (ISAAC) (part I and II) and underwent the following respiratory evaluations: peak flow, manovacuometry and thoracic cirtometry. Results: Asthma symptoms were more prevalent among boys (23%) with wheezing in the last 12 months (19.2%) and frequency of 1 to 3 attacks for this symptom (26.9%) in the same period. The presence of rhinitis was more prevalent in girls (32.1%). Values obtained from the Expiratory Flow Peak (PFE) were lower than those predicted (p = 0.0001). In cirtometry, maximal inspiration and expiration were statistically significant, but, in the post-test, it was verified that there was no difference between the axillary region and the xiphoid region. The values obtained in the Maximum Expiratory Pressure (PEmax) (p = 0.0001) and Maximum Inspiratory Pressure (Pmax) (p = <0.0001) were lower than expected. Conclusion: The symptoms of rhinitis were more prevalent in females and the symptoms of asthma in males. The PFE was lower than expected. The lack of standardization of techniques for evaluation and predictive values for PRM and cirtometry in children and adolescents makes a reliable comparison with the results found.