Prevalence and clinical characteristics of wheezing in children in the first year of life, living in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and the clinical characteristics of wheezing in infants aged 12 to 15 months in the city of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Midwest Brazil.METHODS: Parents and/or guardians of infants were interviewed and completed a written standardized questionnaire of the Estudio Internacional de Sibilancia en Lactantes (EISL) - phase 3 at primary healthcare clinics at the same day of children vaccination or at home, from August of 2009 to November of 2010.RESULTS: 1,060 parents and/or guardians completed the questionnaire, and 514 (48.5%) infants were male. Among the studied infants, 294 (27.7%) had at least one episode of wheezing during the first year of life, beggining at 5.8±3.0 months of age, with a predominance of male patients. The prevalence of occasional wheezing (