COMPARATIVE CLINICAL COURSE AND PREVALENCE FEATURES OF ALLERGIC RHaINITIS IN PRESCHOOL AND SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN

The article provides a comparative analysis of the prevalence and age-related clinical features of allergic rhinitis (AR) in preschool (3–6 years) and school-age (7–15 years) children. Data from the ISAAC and Global Asthma Network studies were summarised together with the clinical and laboratory findings of 118 children. Preschoolers showed a predominance of the persistent form of AR (66.1%), nasal obstruction (91.1%), house dust mite sensitisation, frequently co-occurring with adenoid hypertrophy. In school-age children, the intermittent (episodic) form (61.3%), pollen sensitisation (71.0%), sneezing attacks (87.1%) and conjunctival symptoms (54.8%) predominated. The findings substantiate the need for an age-adapted diagnostic algorithm.