Clinical and functional correlates of blood eosinophilia in pediatric asthma: A retrospective cohort study
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pediatric asthma is a heterogeneous disease with distinct inflammatory phenotypes. Asthma with blood eosinophilia (driven by type 2 inflammation) is associated with increased asthma severity and poor asthma control. However, pediatric data including that from resource-limited settings [low-and-middle-income country (LMIC)] remains limited.
AIM: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, asthma severity, and lung function in children with asthma and blood eosinophilia from a LMIC setting.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included children aged 5-14 years with asthma evaluated at a tertiary care center in Eastern India between March 1, 2017 and February 29, 2020. Blood eosinophilia was defined as an absolute eosinophil count (AEC) of ≥ 400 cells/mm3. The primary outcome was the association between blood eosinophilia and asthma control. Secondary outcomes included asthma severity, spirometry parameters, serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, and factors independently associated with eosinophilia. Clinical characteristics, asthma control test scores, lung function parameters, and serum IgE levels were compared between children with and without eosinophilia. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with blood eosinophilia.
RESULTS: Among 176 children included in the analysis, 84 (47.8%) had blood eosinophilia. Poor asthma control was more common in children with eosinophilia than in those without eosinophilia (51.2% vs 34.8%, P = 0.027). Eosinophilia was significantly associated with moderate and severe asthma and with greater airway obstruction, reflected by a lower mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio (65.5% vs 69.7%, P = 0.006). Median serum IgE levels were significantly increased in the eosinophilic group (295 vs 98 kIU/L, P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, age > 8 years, elevated serum IgE (> 300 kIU/L), poor asthma control, and reduced FEV1/FVC ratio were independently associated with blood eosinophilia.
CONCLUSION: Childhood asthma with blood eosinophilia (an AEC of ≥ 400 cells/mm3) is associated with poor control, greater disease severity, and increased airflow limitation. Peripheral eosinophil count may serve as an important biomarker for risk stratification and personalized asthma management in a LMIC setting.
Related
- Clinical and placental correlates of high- versus low-grade Villitis of unknown etiology: a retrospective study from Kuwait, 2014–2024
- Longitudinal trajectories of questionnaire-derived health burden and clinical correlates among community-dwelling older adults: a retrospective cohort study in Deyang, China
- Clinical Characteristics and Management of Pediatric Facial Wounds with Documented Infection or Delayed Presentation: A 25-Year Retrospective Case Series
- Informal and Professional Awareness of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: Clinical and Functional Correlates Among Arab Female University Students
- Clinical, laboratory, operative, and appendiceal morphometric correlates of histopathological appendicitis severity: A retrospective cohort study from Palestine
BibTeX
@article{das2026clinical,
title = {{Clinical and functional correlates of blood eosinophilia in pediatric asthma: A retrospective cohort study}},
author = {Rashmi Ranjan Das and Manoj Kumar Panigrahi and Samarendra Mahapatro and Joseph John},
journal = {World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.5409/wjcp.122880},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5409/wjcp.122880},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Clinical and functional correlates of blood eosinophilia in pediatric asthma: A retrospective cohort study
AU - Rashmi Ranjan Das
AU - Manoj Kumar Panigrahi
AU - Samarendra Mahapatro
AU - Joseph John
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics
DO - 10.5409/wjcp.122880
UR - https://doi.org/10.5409/wjcp.122880
AB - BACKGROUND: Pediatric asthma is a heterogeneous disease with distinct inflammatory phenotypes. Asthma with blood eosinophilia (driven by type 2 inflammation) is associated with increased asthma severity and poor asthma control. However, pediatric data including that from resource-limited settings [low-and-middle-income country (LMIC)] remains limited. AIM: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, asthma severity, and lung function in children with asthma and blood eosinophilia from a LMIC setting. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included children aged 5-14 years with asthma evaluated at a tertiary care center in Eastern India between March 1, 2017 and February 29, 2020. Blood eosinophilia was defined as an absolute eosinophil count (AEC) of ≥ 400 cells/mm3. The primary outcome was the association between blood eosinophilia and asthma control. Secondary outcomes included asthma severity, spirometry parameters, serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, and factors independently associated with eosinophilia. Clinical characteristics, asthma control test scores, lung function parameters, and serum IgE levels were compared between children with and without eosinophilia. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with blood eosinophilia. RESULTS: Among 176 children included in the analysis, 84 (47.8%) had blood eosinophilia. Poor asthma control was more common in children with eosinophilia than in those without eosinophilia (51.2% vs 34.8%, P = 0.027). Eosinophilia was significantly associated with moderate and severe asthma and with greater airway obstruction, reflected by a lower mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio (65.5% vs 69.7%, P = 0.006). Median serum IgE levels were significantly increased in the eosinophilic group (295 vs 98 kIU/L, P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, age > 8 years, elevated serum IgE (> 300 kIU/L), poor asthma control, and reduced FEV1/FVC ratio were independently associated with blood eosinophilia. CONCLUSION: Childhood asthma with blood eosinophilia (an AEC of ≥ 400 cells/mm3) is associated with poor control, greater disease severity, and increased airflow limitation. Peripheral eosinophil count may serve as an important biomarker for risk stratification and personalized asthma management in a LMIC setting.
SN - 2219-2808
ER -