Clinical assessment
Each patient completed a questionnaire and underwent a clinical
examination. The questionnaire contained items concerning the patient’s
history of chronic cough, history of wheezing, familial and personal
allergic history, history of asthma, as well as the subject’s use of
current medications. Eosinophil counts were determined by routine blood
examinations and the reference value was 0.02-0.52 x 10/L. The
fluoroenzyme immunoassay (UniCAP® 100, Pharmacia
Diagnostics AB, Uppsala, Sweden) was used to measure inhaled
allergen-specific IgE in serum. A positive test for specific IgE was
defined as a value ≥ 0.35 KU/L. We defined obesity as a body mass index
(BMI)≥ P95.[15]