Methods: A retrospective review was limited to Hispanic/Latino children referred to our Allergy clinic over 6 months. These children were referred by their pediatrician for diagnosis of asthma and/or reactive airways disease. Respiratory tests of spirometry with Koko (nSpire Health, Colorado) and exhaled NO with MINO (Aerocrine, Sweden) was performed in all children by ATS guidelines. Collection of laboratory results of serum eosinophils and total IgE was also done. Two groupings were made based on the location of family residence, either locally in Miami, Florida (MF) or Latin America (LA). All patients in the MF group were of Hispanic/Latino ancestry, either first or second generation. The country of ancestry represented in the MF group were Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela. The patients in the LA group were coming from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Venezuela.
Results: Thirty-five children from MF group and twenty-nine children from the LA group were found. The mean age in the MF group was 8+3 years of age and in the LA group was 9+4 years of age. There was statistical significance between eNO in both groups. The mean eNO was 23ppb in the MF group and 41ppb in the LA group. Normal eNO based on age and height for both groups is less than 15-20ppb. There was no statistical significance between FEV1% in spirometry between both groups. The mean FEV1% in the MF group was 95+13%, and the mean FEV1% in the LA group was 92+9%. No differences were found between groups with either laboratory measures of serum eosinophils or total IgE.
Conclusions: Our analysis confirmed that despite similar levels of allergy/asthma control, there was a difference found in eNO in Hispanics/Latinos. This may be attributable to differences in environmental exposures between MF and LA.