| Sub-title | |
| Authors | J Pullicino C Vella S Montefort |
| Abstract | Asthma guidelines emphasise the need to target treatment towards inflammation of the airways. The cornerstone to asthma therapy is to move away from ?2-agonists and use anti-inflammatory drugs (inhaled corticosteriods). The aims of this study were to describe patterns of medical treatment prescribed, management, health care trends and the relationship between treatment and disease severity in 349, 8-10 year old children having a history of asthma and/or wheezing episodes at the time of the study or in the previous 12 months. This study was conducted at Childrens Outpatients, St. Lukes Hospital. Parents accompanying children answered standardized ISAAC questionnaires on asthma management. The 2 most reported treatment regimens were: i) regular preventers (inhaled corticosteroids) and relievers (?2-agonist) when wheezy and ii) regular use of both relievers and preventers. When comparing these two treatment plans, children using both preventers and ?2-agonists regularly were more likely to require use of oral relievers (p=0.001), use medication to control exercise-induced symptoms (p=0.017), be admitted to hospital more often (p=0.006) and be absent from school (p<0.001). These results show that children on regular ?2-agonists inhalations tend to experience more severe symptoms and their condition is not adequately controlled. Children who are prescribed regular inhaled corticosteroids and ?2-agonists as needed are faring well and seem to enjoy a better quality of life. Thus, one can speculate that the use of ?2-agonists does not control asthma and associated symptoms as effectively as inhaled corticosteroids in children. Inhaled ?2-agonists should be used on demand and to relieve acute symptoms - regular inhalation should be avoided. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | Volume 15 (suppl) |
| Pages | - |
| Date | |
| Link to journal | |
| Key words | asthma, management, paediatrics, corticosteroids, outpatient |