Perception of exercise induced asthma by children and their parents

Medical screening of the athlete: How does asthma fit in?

There are 4 million high school athletes in the United States, and there are 30 million athletes under age 18 yr competing in organized sports. The prevalence number of emergency room visits and deaths from asthma are significant. Medical clearance is required by all states for participation in high school sports. This article discusses the issues regarding the medical screening of the athlete and how asthma fits into the process. The preparticipation sports physical is an overlooked and underutilized opportunity to improve asthma diagnosis and management in adolescents.

Emotional and behavioural problems in Swedish 7- to 9-year olds with asthma

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study is to compare emotional and behavioural problems between preadolescent children with asthma and healthy children, and to explore if disease factors relate to problem scores.

DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional study of 59 children, 34 boys and 25 girls, aged 7-9 years with mild (n = 11), moderate (n = 38) or severe (n = 10) asthma. A normative sample of 306 children in the same age range, 150 boys and 156 girls, was used as a comparison group.

METHODS

Parents assessed emotional and behavioural problems using the Child Behaviour Checklist. Peak expiratory flow rate and urinary eosinophil protein X were used as measures of lung function and inflammation. Children were interviewed about activity restriction and symptoms during the last week using the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire. Parents scored day, night and exercise-induced symptoms during the same week.

RESULTS

On average, children with asthma were attributed more problems than healthy children of the same age and comparable family socio-economic status. Effect sizes were 0.80 (95% confidence interval 0.52-1.09) for total problems, 0.89 (0.60-1.18) for internalizing problems and 0.67 (0.38-0.95) for externalizing problems. The relative risk for children with asthma exceeding the 95% cut-offpoint for total problems was 4.2 (2.1-8.3) compared to healthy children.

CONCLUSION

Children with parent-reported exercise-induced asthma symptoms were attributed more total problems than asthmatic children without such symptoms. Parent-reported day symptoms and child report of symptoms and restricted activities related with problem scores to a lesser degree. Objective measures of lung function and inflammation were not related to problem scores. Concurrent eczema increased problem scores. It is concluded that asthma in preadolescent children is associated with emotional and behavioural problems. Special attention should be paid to children reported to have exercise-induced symptoms.

Exhaled nitric oxide predicts exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in asthmatic school children

BACKGROUND

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is of particular importance in children with asthma. It is an important measure of asthma control and should be monitored by exercise testing. However, exercise testing puts a large demand on health-care resources and is therefore not widely used in routine monitoring of pediatric asthma control. The fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) also reflects uncontrolled asthma. We hypothesized that FeNO may be used for prescreening of asthmatic children to exclude those with good asthma control unlikely to have EIB, thereby reducing the need for exercise testing.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to estimate the value of FeNO as a predictor of EIB in asthmatic children.

METHODS

Stable outpatient asthmatic school children performed standard exercise challenge tests and measurement of FeNO.

RESULTS

FeNO and response to a standardized submaximal exercise test on the treadmill were measured in 111 school children with asthma. EIB could be excluded with a probability of 90% in asthmatic children with FeNO levels < 20 parts per billion (ppb) without current inhaled corticosteroid treatment, and < 12 ppb in children with current inhaled corticosteroid treatment.

CONCLUSION

Measurement of FeNO is a simple, and time- and resource-efficient tool that may be used to screen for EIB testing and therefore optimizes the resources for exercise testing in pediatric asthma monitoring.

How accurate is the diagnosis of exercise induced asthma among Vancouver schoolchildren?

BACKGROUND

Limited access to exercise testing facilities means that the diagnosis of exercise induced asthma (EIA) is mainly based on self-reported respiratory symptoms. This is open to error since the correlation between exercise related symptoms and subsequent exercise testing has been shown to be poor.

AIM

To study the accuracy of clinically diagnosed EIA among Vancouver schoolchildren.

METHODS

Fifty two children referred for investigation of poorly controlled EIA were studied. Following a careful history and physical examination, children performed pulmonary function tests before, then 5 and 15 minutes after a standardised treadmill exercise test. Based on overall assessment, a diagnostic explanation for each child's respiratory complaints was provided as far as possible.

RESULTS

Only eight children (15.4%) fulfilled diagnostic criteria for EIA (fall in FEV(1) > or =10%). Of the remainder: 12 (23.1%) were unfit, 14 (26.9%) had vocal cord dysfunction/sigh dyspnoea, 7 (13.5%) had a habit cough, and 11 (21.1%) had no abnormalities on clinical or laboratory testing, so were given no diagnosis. Initial reported symptoms of wheeze or cough often changed significantly following a careful history, particularly among the eight elite athletes. The final complaint was sometimes not respiratory, and, in a few cases, was not even associated with exercise.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical diagnosis of EIA is inaccurate among Vancouver schoolchildren, principally due to the unreliability of their initial exercise related complaints. Symptom exaggeration, familiarity with medical jargon, and psychogenic complaints are all common. A careful history is essential in this population before basing any diagnosis on self-reported respiratory symptoms.

Understanding mild persistent asthma in children: the next frontier

Limitations in asthma prevalence studies and difficulties in diagnosing pediatric asthma lead to uncertainty over the full extent of mild persistent asthma in children and adolescents. Although recent surveys have reported that the majority of pediatric patients with asthma in the United States and Europe have symptoms consistent with mild disease, these surveys have limitations in design. Thus, the true prevalence of mild asthma remains unknown. It is unclear whether children with mild persistent asthma progress to more severe asthma, but the risk of severe asthma exacerbations seems to be unrelated to the symptom severity. Clinical studies restricted to pediatric patients with mild asthma are limited, but available data do suggest substantial morbidity of mild persistent asthma in this population and support inhaled corticosteroid intervention. There is a need for further investigation into the true prevalence of mild persistent asthma in children and adolescents, and optimal treatment.

A doctor's ability to assess the severity of childhood asthma by simple clinical features

AIMS

To ascertain whether the severity of childhood asthma can be reliably assessed by simple clinical features, 94 newly diagnosed, school-aged asthmatic children were investigated.

METHODS

The study included parental interviews, physical examination, skin prick tests, lung function studies, including a brief visual interpretation of the flow-volume curve, and a 6-min exercise challenge test on a treadmill, which was used as a reference.

RESULTS

Baseline lung function studies showed a concave-shaped flow-volume curve in 40 (43%) patients, reduced maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF) in 25 (27%) and a reduced ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 s to forced vital capacity (FEV(1)/FVC) in 14 (15%). The drop in peak expiratory flow (PEF) after exercise ranged from 0 to 79% of the baseline (mean 21.3%) and exceeded 12.5% in 52 (55%) patients. There was a small but significant correlation between the baseline FEV(1)/FVC and MMEF values and the response to exercise (r=-0.39 and -0.35; p=0.000, respectively), but when studied by linear regression analysis, the response to exercise was best predicted by the past symptom rate and a concave pattern in the pre-test maximal expiratory flow-volume curve. The values of traditional lung function tests or age, atopy, duration of symptoms or history of exercise-induced wheezing did not remain in the model.

CONCLUSIONS

These results show that the severity of asthma in school-aged children can be predicted at the first visit based on the past rate of symptoms and a visual interpretation of the maximal expiratory flow-volume curve.

Advancing the science of perceptual accuracy in pediatric asthma and diabetes

OBJECTIVES

To review research on perceptual accuracy in pediatric asthma and diabetes and to provide recommendations for future research efforts and clinical applications of the construct in these populations.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted using Medline and PsychInfo databases as well as the bibliographies of relevant articles.

RESULTS

Children and adolescents with asthma or diabetes evidence considerable variability in perceptual accuracy and frequently make clinically relevant errors that have the potential to affect self-management behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

Recommendations for future research include studying distinct types of perceptual errors, empirically supporting the relationship between perceptual accuracy and relevant outcomes, identifying factors related to perceptual inaccuracy, and conducting longitudinal research and intervention studies. Recommendations for applying the construct in clinical practice include adopting an individualized approach to symptoms to guide patient education and management, identifying patients prone to making clinically relevant errors, and developing and implementing interventions to improve accuracy.

Exercise-induced dyspnea in children and adolescents: if not asthma then what?

BACKGROUND

Exercise-induced dyspnea (EID) in children and adolescents is a common manifestation of asthma and is therefore commonly attributed to exercise-induced asthma (EIA) when present in otherwise healthy children.

OBJECTIVE

To report the outcome of evaluations for EID when other symptoms and signs of asthma were absent or if there was no response to previous use of an inhaled beta2-agonist.

METHODS

We reviewed the results of all exercise tests performed in otherwise healthy patients with EID during 1996 to 2003. Physiologic measures included preexercise and postexercise spirometry with the addition of oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production, continuous oximetry, and electrocardiogram monitoring during most tests. EIA was diagnosed if symptoms were reproduced in association with a 15% or greater decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second from baseline. Endoscopy was performed if stridor and/or decreased maximal inspiratory flow were present. Criteria were established for restrictive abnormalities, physical conditioning, exercise-induced hyperventilation, and normal physiologic limitation.

RESULTS

A total of 142 patients met our criteria for inclusion. EID had been present in these patients for a mean duration of 30.2 months (range, <1 to 192 months) before evaluation and had been previously attributed to asthma by the referring physician in 98 of them. Symptoms of EID were reproduced during exercise testing in 117 patients. EIA was identified as the cause of EID in only 11 of those 117. Seventy-four demonstrated only normal physiologic exercise limitation; 48 of these 74 had normal to high cardiovascular conditioning, and 26 had poor conditioning. Other diagnoses associated with reproduced EID included restrictive abnormalities in 15, vocal cord dysfunction in 13, laryngomalacia in 2 (1 of whom had unilateral vocal cord paralysis), primary hyperventilation in 1, and supraventricular tachycardia in 1.

CONCLUSION

The diagnosis of EIA should be questioned as the etiology of EID in children and adolescents who have no other clinical manifestations of asthma and who do not respond to pretreatment with a beta2-agonist. Exercise testing that reproduces symptoms while monitoring cardiac and respiratory physiology is then indicated to identify causes of EID other than EIA.

Validation of a Dutch language screening instrument for 5-year-old preterm infants

AIM

The validation of the Dutch Taal Screenings Test (TST), a language-screening test, which is included in a follow-up instrument developed to enable paediatricians to assess 5-y-old preterm infants for their motor, cognitive and speech and language development.

METHODS

The speech and language development of 145 5-y-old infants born before 32 wk of gestation and/or with a birth weight of less than 1500 g was assessed by a paediatrician using the TST and by a speech therapist using standardized language tests.

RESULTS

All correlations between the instruments were significant. Using the original cut-off point of the TST for abnormal speech and language development (18 points), the paediatrician will only identify 62% of the children who need speech therapy. For this group of children, a cut-off point of 17 is more effective. The positive predictive value of the TST improved from 77% to 82% by using a parent and school questionnaire to evaluate in a more subjective way the speech and language development.

CONCLUSION

Using the TST, paediatricians will be able to identify speech or language problems in 5-y-old preterm infants.