2009 Volume 23 Issue 2 Pages 222-230
We conducted a survey of management of childhood asthma at clinics and hospitals in Nara prefecture in 2008, using the same questionnaire as that used in our 2004 study. The period of the survey was from June 1st to July 31st, 2008, and 405 patients completed the questionnaire (270 males, 135 females). The median ages for enrollment at the clinic, onset of asthma, and first diagnosis of asthma were 6 (range: 1-17), 2 (0-12), and 2 (0-12) years old, respectively. Asthma attacks were least frequent in the summer season. The most common factors associated with worsening of asthma in the children were inhalation of house dust and catching a common cold in 2004 and 2008. However, the percentage of children with asthma worsened by exposure to smoking was significantly lower in 2008 compared with 2004. Fewer patients who enrolled at the clinical in 2008 had been hospitalized, visited an emergency room, or used beta 2-stimulant inhalation therapy compared to patients in 2004. However, fewer patients in the 2008 survey understood the methods for relieving attacks and removing antigens. The frequencies of wheezing, sleep disturbance, and absence from school and events, were all significantly lower in 2008 compared to 2004, which suggests that control of bronchial asthma in childhood has improved. However, 12.6% of the patients in 2008 felt that their control of asthma was poor and that this disrupted their life and their parents' lives. Therefore, further consideration of approaches for improvement of the QOL of patients with childhood asthma and their parents is of importance, including increased patient education.
