RESUMEN
Objective: the present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of oral omega-3 supplementation on asthmatic children attending Alexandria University Children's Hospital [AUCH]
Subjects: the present study was carried out on 60 children with mild to moderate persistent asthma attending the Asthma Clinic at AUCH
Methods: a randomized controlled trial for 4 months during which subjects were divided equally into 2 groups: - Group [A]: received a daily dose of 1000 mg triglyceridic oil containing about 30% EPA/DHA in addition to their ordinary asthma treatment for 4 months. - Group [B]: received their ordinary asthma treatment only. During the 4 months study, children and their primary caregivers [usually a parent] attended the clinic on another 2 occasions [after 2 and 4 months]. At each visit the child completed the Asthma Control Questionnaire [ACQ] followed by spirometry to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed intervention
Results: the mean age of studied children was 8.19+/- 2.22 years and male children constituted 78.3% of the study sample. 60% of cases were living in urban areas. The positive family history was positive in 45% of the studied cases. There was a significant improvement of ACQ score of omega-3group at 2 and4 months after the study when compared to the start of the study, while there is no significant improvement in ACQ score of control group
Conclusion: the current study shows that supplementation of asthmatic children with omega3 significantly improved ACQ score
RESUMEN
Lymphocytes are prominent among the inflammatory cells infiltrating the asthmatic airways and T-cell activation appears to be a characteristic feature of acute asthma. In patients with acute asthma who respond well to bronchodilator therapy, the main mechanism of airflow obstruction is smooth muscle contraction, while in patients with poor response the main mechanism is airway inflammation. This study was conducted on 60 children with acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. They were divided into three groups [mild, moderate and severe] according to the severity of the acute attack, utilizing a clinical scoring system and through measuring Peak Expiratory Flow Rate [PEFR], and oxygen saturation. Serum level of sIL-2R was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay both in the studied cases and in 20 healthy controls. The mean serum level of sIL-2R in the studied cases [5207.5 +/- 2084.9 pg/ml] was significantly higher than its mean level in controls [1742.5 +/- 801.9 pg/ml] [t=9.37, P=0.000]. Its mean level in severe exacerbation [8090.8 +/- 1222.6 pg/ml] was significantly higher than its mean level in moderate exacerbation [5255.0 +/- 1112.8 pg/ml], that was significantly higher than its mean level in mild exacerbation [3164.6 +/- 990.8 pg/ml] [F= 77.36, P=0.000]. There was a significant negative correlation between the levels of sIL-2R and both the baseline PEFR [r = -0.710, P=0.000] and oxygen saturation [r = -0.521, P=0.000]. After receiving bronchodilator therapy, the mean level of sIL-2R in cases with no or partial response [6486.8 +/- 1900.4 pg/ml] was significantly higher than its mean level in cases with complete response [4088.1 +/- 1534.9 pg/ml] [t=5.406, P=0.000]. A higher level of sIL-2R at acute asthma exacerbation was associated not only with more severe exacerbation but also with a lower degree of bronchodilator responsiveness