Abstract
In order to investigate the treatment and management of childhood asthma patients before the publication of the Japanese Pediatric Guideline for the Treatment and Management of Asthma (JPGL) 2005, we conducted a survey of pediatricians in Japan. Three thousand three hundred and ninety six pediatricians answered the questions. Since the same survey had been conducted several months after the publication of JPGL2002, we compared this result with the previous one.
The ratio of pediatricians who answered “asthma patients have been increasing since 3 years ago” was decreased in comparison to the previous survey. The ratio of pediatricians who answered “the patients who visited and entered hospitals because of acute asthma attacks or severe attacks were decreasing” was increased in comparison to the previous survey. Ninety six percent of pediatricians answered that they were utilizing JPGL”.
There were no significant changes regarding the treatment for acute asthma exacerbation. As for the controller medications, pediatricians who selected sustained release theophylline, DSCG+β2 stimulant inhalation and oral anti-allergic drugs were decreased, and those who selected inhaled cortico-steroid and leukotriene receptor antagonists were increased. As the treatment had not been changed in the revision of JPGL in 2004, those changes in controller medications were thought to be due to more diffuse spread of JPGL2002 (2004), or due to lectures at medical meetings or medical journals.
