Is asthma in 2-12 year-old children associated with physician-attended recurrent upper respiratory tract infections?

Abstract

In a prevalence study, we evaluated whether recurrent physician-attended URTI episodes are more common in asthmatic children as compared to age- and gender-matched controls. URTI proneness, defined as > or = 5 episodes of rhinitis/pharyngitis, sinusitis, laryngitis/tracheitis or otitis media in a 24-month period, was more common in asthmatics than controls (adjusted odds ratio 2.5, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-6.1). As a consequence, antibiotic prescriptions and referrals to hospitals occurred more frequently among asthmatics than controls.