Pattern of uncontrolled allergic rhinitis in a hospital setting of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

AimTo determine the clinical and allergic features of uncontrolled allergic rhinitis (UCAR) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).MethodsObservational cross‐sectional study of 311 patients with UCAR. Allergic rhinitis was diagnosed clinically with sensitization to inhalant allergens and then confirmed by skin prick test. Severity was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), with VAS scores greater than or equal to 5 used as cut off to determine uncontrolled status.ResultsThe mean age of UCAR patients was 30.7 ± 15.1 years and 66.9% of the patients were females. Three out of four patients had persistent UCAR while the remainder had intermittent symptoms. UCAR was associated with rhinosinusitis and asthma in 18.6% and 18% of the patients, respectively. Among UCAR patients, 95.2% were polysensitized. The allergens most frequently involved were mites (82%), cat (27.3%), and dog (26.7%). The most frequent symptoms were nasal congestion, sneezing, and runny nose. There were 44.4% of the patients treated with nasal corticosteroids and 33.1% with oral antihistamine (anti‐H1).ConclusionsThis study reports on the clinical phenotype of UCAR in the DRC. The findings contribute to our understanding of UCAR in this population and may be used to implement strategies to reduce the prevalence and burden of UCAR in this setting.

Determinants of uncontrolled allergic rhinitis in Kinshasa hospitals

“…Patients with a score ≥5 on this scale are considered to have uncontrolled AR (UCAR) ( 4 , 5 ). Several studies have reported an increase in UCAR frequency in some countries such as France (71.7%) ( 6 ), Italy (>60%) ( 7 ), Tunisia (62%) ( 8 ), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (75.5%) ( 9 ). On average, one-fifth of patients with AR have bothersome symptoms of AR despite adequate medical treatment abiding to the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines ( 10 ).…”