Abstract
Background : It is crucial to evaluate the state of asthma control for bronchial asthma management in children accurately and objectively. Although the usefulness of questionnaires regarding asthma control has been evaluated, parents are often confused when responding to these questionnaires. Objective : To clarify the recognition among parents of wheezing symptoms in children with a history of wheezing. Subjects and Methods : Questionnaires were issued to 290 parents of children who visited our outpatient clinic at Fukuyama Medical Center and who had a history of wheezing (185 boys, age 6.5±3.8 years). Questionnaire contents concerned recognition of the symptoms of wheezing and asthma according to the Japanese Pediatric Asthma Control Program (JPAC) test. Result : Of the visits to our clinic, 86.2% were routine visits for asthma and 6.5% were observation visits after hospitalization for respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis. Furthermore, 62.7% and 75% of parents reported that their child had experienced “wheezing” or “gasping for breath”, respectively. However, 58.3% of parents reported that they did not understand the term “wheezing” and 24.8% of parents had misunderstandings about the term. Conclusion : Recognition of “wheezing” was low among parents of children who had experienced wheezing illnesses. Because is necessary to comprehend and understand symptoms in the long-term management of asthma, a team including a doctor and other medical professionals should provide repeated education to pediatric patients and their parents.
