CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Background: Subclinical spirometric abnormalities maybe detected in patients with rhinitis without asthma, proportional to severityestablished by ARIA (Allergic Rhinitisand Its Impact on Asthma) guideline. A new criteria of rhinitis classificationwas recently validated according to ARIA modified (m-ARIA), which allow thediscrimination between moderate to severe grades. The impact of rhinitis onlung function according to frequency and severity is unknown.Objectives: To investigate subclinical spirometric impairmentin children and adolescents with allergic and non-allergic rhinitis withoutovert symptoms of asthma, according to the frequency and severity criteria ofrhinitis classified by m-ARIA.Methods: An observational cross sectional study,including children and adolescents aged 5-18 years with allergic andnon-allergic rhinitis without asthma. We analyzed the functional abnormalities andbronchodilator response with spirometry in relation to the grade of rhinitisestablished by m-ARIA using an adjusted logistic model. Value of p <0.05 wasconsidered statistically significant.Results: We studied 189 patients; 22.2% showed spirometricabnormalities. Patients with persistentrhinitis had greater impairment of lung function compared to intermittent grade(p=0.026). Lung functional impairment was more frequent in severe and moderate rhinitisthan mild grade (p=0.005) and was independent of the atopic status to bothfrequency (p=0.157) and severity (p=0.538). There was no difference in bronchodilatorreversibility between groups (p>0.05).Conclusions: Impaired lung function was associated with persistence and severity ofrhinitis and there was not a significant difference between patients with moderateand severe rhinitis. The spirometric abnormality was demonstrated in patientswith allergic and non-allergic rhinitis.