[Epidemiological study of asthmatic crises in a maternal-child emergency service]

In our region, allergic respiratory diseases affects over 55% of the child up to 5 years. This could be attributed to some peculiarities of our region, such as consanguinity, climate and predominant sensitisation to dermatophagoides mite. We made an epidemiologic study on the bronchospasm urgent cases attended in the Urgency Unit of our Maternal-Child Hospital in Las Palmas. We took 935 patients with a mean age of 32.36 months with acute attacks of bronchospasm, and found no significant difference between patients from the Northern and Southern zones of the island. Bronchospasm cases were more frequently observed in Autumn and Winter. We discuss here about the possible causing agents involved and want to draw attention to the need of education for our patients' parents for them to learn antiasthmatic medication and how to use it, before going to the Urgency Unit of any Hospital.