Aplicação da nova curva de referência do pico do fluxo inspiratório nasal em crianças e adolescentes brasileiros com e sem rinite alérgica

Abstract

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis is the most prevalent disease in childhood. The implementation of objective assessment measures of nasal function in the pediatric age group is importante due to the difficulty of perception of nasal obstruction in this age group. Peak Nasal Inspiratory Flow (PNIF) is a simple, portable means that complements the evaluation, diagnosis and the clinical follow-up of allergic rhinitis patients. Recently there was a broadening of the PNIF reference curve for the Brazilian population aged 6 to 18. Objective: to apply the new reference PNIFcurve to children with and without allergic rhinitis. Method: Cross-sectional study, performed with children in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, one group being composed by children diagnosed with allergic rhinitis and another group composed of children without rhinitis. PNIF values were correlated to gender, stature, weight, BMI and predicted PNIF. Results: there was a significant difference in PNIF values and of the % of predicted PNIF, being higher in the group without allergic rhinitis. The average of PNIF values in the group with allergic rhinitis was 93,3 l/min and 160 l/min in the group without allergic rhinitis. The predicted value of PNIF in the group with allergic rhinitis was 88% and 142,5% in the group withou allergic rhinitis, with a p<0,001. Conclusion: patients with allergic rhinitis show absolute and predicted values of PNIF inferior to those of children without allergic rhinitis