Focus on asthma and allergy

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 5. The development of improved treatment protocols for asthma, allergy and other related disorders and the lacunae in the current approaches to manage these ailments is the focus of an on-going convention here.

The Governor, Mr. Sukhdev Singh Kang, inaugurated the 35th joint convention of the Indian College of Allergy, Asthma and Applied Immunology and the Indian Aerobiological Society.

On the occasion, Mr. Chandrashekharan Nair, Principal Health Secretary, formally released a souvenir.

In his presidential address, Dr. V.K. Jain, Head of Department of TB and Respiratory Diseases, SP Medical College, Bikaner, drew attention to the lack of an academic degree in the medical speciality of allergy, asthma and applied immunology. This was in spite of the Medical Council of India having already recognised the speciality in its curriculum.

He urged for synchronising efforts pointing to the fact that allergy was a multi-disciplinary subject and required team work from medical doctors, clinical allergists, aerobiologists, paleo- botanists, zoologists, immunologists and ecologists.

The event, with a focus on various aspects of asthma, allergy and applied immunology, has been organised under the auspices of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.

Dr. C. Sudheendra Ghosh, Head of Respiratory Medicine, Medical College, pointed out that chronic asthma is a common problem in the State with the prevalence estimates ranging from 4 per cent to 8 per cent. Frequent acute exacerbations result in hospitalisation or at least hospital visits.

Poor asthma control leads to disruption of social activities, career choices, house keeping chores, lifestyle, sleeping and sports and pastime. It is estimated that around 20 per cent of asthmatics report absence from work or school.

According to Dr. Ghosh, over 20,000 patients have to date undergone allergy evaluation tests and treatment at the Department while another 5,000 are on the waiting list. Systematic evaluation of a group of these patients showed complete remission in 20 per cent of cases and partial improvement in 51 per cent of the patients. Antigen therapy was found to be an ideal as well as cost-effective intervention in selected cases.

A paper on "Environmental Monitoring of Airborne Pollen in the Atmosphere of Chennai City", by Dr. V. Raju, Dr. Vittal, Dr. Udaya Prakash, Dr. T. Janaki and Dr. S. Bhuvaneswari, stressed the importance of constantly monitoring the variation in the pollen count which directly influences the manifestation of allergic symptoms in sensitive individuals.

A study by Dr. G.C. Das to determine the prevalence of different sensitisations in asthmatic children through skin tests confirms the role of dermatophagoides in allergic asthma in children. The study found that 68 per cent showed sensitisation to dermatophagoides, 12 per cent to egg, 10 per cent to prawn, 10 per cent cow milk and 6 per cent to dust.

Dr. S. Bhuvaneswari and Dr. B.P.R. Vittal, who studied the role of house dust as a potential sources of mould allergens in domestic environments, established dust mites as a major source of allergens in indoor ambiences.

The study found that Aspergillus as a single genus, with all species put together, accounted for 83 per cent of allergic reactions. The spores of this genus are aerodynamically well suited to penetrate into the lower respiratory tract and cause respiratory disorders in humans exposed to house dust.

Dr. R. Udeyabhaskar dwelt on the role of sinusitis as a contributor to asthma and other lower respiratory tract diseases.

Dr. Lata Kumar who gave a presentation debating whether inhaled steroids be suspended in chronic asthma therapy, felt that even though inhaled steroids are the cornerstone of anti-inflammatory therapy of asthma, the strategy to reduce or stop therapy altogether once the asthma condition is under control, remained unclear.

Over 200 delegates, from Indian and abroad, are participating in the conference which concludes on Saturday.

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