Early diagnosis effects the prognosis in children with atypical wheeze.

Aim: Recurrent wheezing is a common problem in preschool children.It is classified into two groups because there can be many reasons for wheeze: typical and atypical. The aim of this study was to identify the general features of atypical wheezy children.

Material And Methods: Three hundred two children who presented to our clinic between 2000 and 2015 for three or more wheezing attacks and were diagnosed as having an underlying disease such as bronchiectasis, foreign body aspiration, recurrent aspiration pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, congenital anomalies, and tuberculosis, were included in the study.

Results: In this study, 127 (42.1%) girls and 175 (57.9%) boys were evaluated. The diagnostic distribution of the patients was as follows: bronchopulmonary dysplasia (21.9%), bronchiolitis obliterans (16.6%), bronchiectasis (14.5%), bronchiolitis obliterans + primary immunodeficiency (12.3%), cystic fibrosis (10.3%), bronchiectasis + primary immunodeficiency (7.9%), recurrent aspiration pneumonia (3.6%) and foreign body aspiration (3.3%), and other diseases (9.6%). Mosaic oligemia, bronchiectasis, atelectasis, bronchiolectasis, and small airway disease were the most distinct findings on high-resolution lung tomography. When the patients were evaluated clinically, radiologically, and according to pulmonary functions after an average period of 40 months, it was seen that 9.2% deteriorated, 33.9% regressed, and 56.7% remained stable. Presentation to hospital after the first attack occurred earlier in patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, bronchiolitis obliterans and bronchiolitis obliterans + primary immunodeficiency compared with patients with bronchiectasis, bronchiectasis + primary immunodeficiency, and cystic fibrosis. When presentation time and outcomes were evaluated, it was found that 63.4% of patients who presented to hospital early (0-6 months) and 7.5% of patients who presented late (after 5 years) had regression.

Conclusion: Recurrent wheezy children must be promptly evaluated for an underlying disease. Early diagnosis and treatment influence the prognosis.