Abstract

FERNANDEZ CARDONA, Alejandra et al. FREGUENCY OF RESPRATORY ALTERATIONS IN SCHOLARS FROM LA FLORIDA IN PEREIRA. Investig. andina [online]. 2009, vol.11, n.18, pp.37-54. ISSN 0124-8146.

Introduction: the respiratory diseases are one of the main pathologies that affect children under five years old worldwide, and one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity among children in Latin America. The objective of this descriptive study is to identify the risk for these respiratory disorders in schoolchildren. Methods: clinical evaluation, measurement of the peak expiratory fow and the allergy and asthma ISAAC questionnaire. Results: 94 children between 4 and 14 years old were evaluated, 44 of which were girls and 50 were boys. In the evaluation of the upper respiratory tract there were found just a few alterations and most of them were observed in the nasal tract, the evaluation of the lower respiratory tract showed alterations in the inspection and auscultation but were also just a few. In relation with the typical symptoms of allergic rhinitis it was found that approximately half of the study population claims to have one or more of these symptoms. It was also found only 32,5% of these symptomatic children had been diagnosed. Conclusions: it is important to emphasize that there is a serious lack of knowledge nationwide regarding this problematic issue, which is why it is considered important to expand this study to different places of the region and the country in order to improve the respiratory heath of the Colombian population.

Keywords : school health; child health; respiratory function tests; respiratory sounds.

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