Characteristics of childhood allergic diseases in outpatient and emergency departments in Shanghai, China, 2016-2018: a multicenter, retrospective study

Yuanyuan Qi; Peng Shi; Renjie Chen; Yufeng Zhou; Lijuan Liu; Jianguo Hong; Lanfang Cao; Yanming Lu; Xiaoyan Dong; Jing Li; Yu Shi; Min Xia; Bo Ding; Liling Qian; Libo Wang; Wenhao Zhou; Yonghao Gui; Xiaobo Zhang

doi:10.1186/s12887-021-02880-0

Characteristics of childhood allergic diseases in outpatient and emergency departments in Shanghai, China, 2016-2018: a multicenter, retrospective study

BMC Pediatr. 2021 Sep 17;21(1):409. doi: 10.1186/s12887-021-02880-0.

Authors

Yuanyuan Qi¹, Peng Shi², Renjie Chen³, Yufeng Zhou^{4

5}, Lijuan Liu¹, Jianguo Hong⁶, Lanfang Cao⁷, Yanming Lu⁸, Xiaoyan Dong⁹, Jing Li¹⁰, Yu Shi¹⁰, Min Xia⁷, Bo Ding⁸, Liling Qian¹, Libo Wang¹, Wenhao Zhou¹¹, Yonghao Gui¹², Xiaobo Zhang¹³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201102, China.
² Department of Data Management and Statistics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
³ School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and NHC Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
⁴ Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 201102, China.
⁵ Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200080, China.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, South Campus, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 201112, China.
⁹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200040, China.
¹⁰ Big Data Product Department, Wonders Information Co. Ltd., Shanghai, China.
¹¹ Department of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201102, China.
¹² Cardiovascular Center, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201102, China.
¹³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, 201102, China. zhangxiaobo0307@163.com.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of allergic diseases (ADs), such as asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR), is increasing worldwide in both adults and children. Although ADs are common and frequently coexist in outpatient care, city-level data regarding the characteristics of childhood AD remain limited in China. This study aimed to assess the profile and characteristics of ADs in the city of Shanghai.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was designed to collect routine administrative data from outpatient and emergency departments from 66 hospitals in Shanghai, China, from 2016 to 2018. Children with asthma, AR, allergic conjunctivitis (AC), and allergic skin diseases were investigated. Demographic characteristics, patients visit pattern, spectrum of diagnosis, and comorbidities were analyzed.

Results: A total of 2,376,150 outpatient and emergency visits for ADs were included in the period from 2016 to 2018. Allergic skin diseases accounted for 38.9%, followed by asthma (34.8%), AR (22.9%), and AC (3.3%), with a male predominance in all four diseases. Asthma and allergic skin diseases were most frequent in the 1 to < 4 years of age group, while AR and AC were more common in the 4 to < 7 years of age group. Asthma accounted for the greatest number of annual and emergency visits. The most frequent comorbidity of asthma was lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) (49.3%), followed by AR (20.5%) and upper respiratory tract infection (14.1%). The most common comorbidities of AR were otitis media (23.4%), adenoid hypertrophy/obstructive sleep apnea (22.1%), followed by LRTI (12.1%), asthma (9.4%) and chronic pharyngitis (8.9%).

Conclusions: Asthma and allergic skin diseases were the most common ADs in outpatient and emergency departments in the study period. Respiratory tract infection was the most common comorbidity of asthma in children. More attention should be devoted to the treatment of comorbidities to improve childhood AD outcomes with a better understanding of the characteristics of ADs in outpatient care.

Keywords: Allergic diseases; Allergic rhinitis; Asthma; Comorbidity; Outpatient visit.

Publication types

Multicenter Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Child
China / epidemiology
Emergency Service, Hospital
Female
Humans
Male
Outpatients*
Retrospective Studies
Rhinitis, Allergic* / epidemiology