Abstract
A survey of 2,052 pediatric asthma patients (male : female=1,290:762, 0-1-year-old : 2-5-year-old patients : 6-15-year-old patients=130:1,009:913) using the Japanese Pediatric Asthma Control Program (JPAC) in Hiroshima area was performed from September to December in 2008. In this survey, 878 patients showed wheezing, 426 patients experienced dyspnea, and asthmatic exacerbations disturbed 476 patients′ sleep at night, whereas 1,093 patients experienced no such symptoms. 681 patients showed a score of 15 of JPAC, indicating complete control, 813 patients showed a score of 12-14, indicating good control, and 558 patients showed a score of less than 12, indicating poor control. Most of the patients (79.6% of the 130 patients aged 0-1 years, 87.4% of the 1,009 patients aged 2-5 years, and 91.5% of the 913 patients aged 6-15 years) were treated with leukotriene modifiers, and almost half of the patients (53.8% of those aged 0-1 years, 38.4% of those aged 2-5 years, and 43.3% of those aged 6-15 years) were treated with inhaled corticosteroids. In this study, severity of asthma according to the Japanese Pediatric Guideline for the Treatment and Management of Asthma 2008 showed 80 patients were in remission, 574 patients were intermittent-mild persistent, 522 were mild persistent, 357 moderate persistent, 415 severe persistent, and 63 most severe persistent. Younger patients showed a greater severity than older patients. JPAC was useful to assess the control of asthma patients.
