1 Departments of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Anesthesia, Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts
One recently published article and several presentations at international meetings have suggested that there is an increased incidence of allergic and asthmatic manifestations, as compared with the general population, if a child undergoes surgery before the age of 2 years. This study explores the incidence of asthma and allergy in a group of patients who presented with pyloric stenosis. All of these underwent surgery. The technique of the study was a retrospective telephone review and the response rate was approximately 40%. The data show that there is no increase in the incidence of allergy or asthma in this population as compared with nationally reported figures.
Submitted on September 19, 1974