Care Inadequate for Many Children with Asthma
Care Inadequate for Many Children with Asthma
Feb. 3, 2000 (Atlanta) -- An estimated two million children in the U.S. with moderate to severe asthma may not be getting the care they need, making them sicker than they need to be, according to a study in a supplement to this month's edition of the journal Pediatrics.
Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood. According to figures from the CDC, the prevalence of asthma has grown 75% between 1980 and 1994. There have been many advances in treatment. However, hospitalizations continue to increase for the illness.
Jill S. Halterman, MD, lead author of the study, tells WebMD, "one of the reasons that we even started this study in the first place was that we knew that asthma was getting worse, we know that it's the most common chronic illness of childhood, and we know there are effective preventive medications."
"So, our question was whether or not the children were actually receiving the medications. We can't say why asthma is increasing or getting worse for children, there could be a lot of reasons ... but it does seem that children aren't receiving medications that could be helpful," she says. Halterman is with the Children's Hospital at Strong, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.
The disease currently cannot be cured, only controlled. It is a long-term, progressive disease that causes inflammation of the airways, which, in turn, can lead to difficulty breathing. Without proper care, in time, the recurrent inflammation can cause permanent lung damage.
This study focused on more than 500 children aged 2 months to 16 years from the third national health and nutrition examination survey. The children had moderate to severe asthma, and only 26% had taken a maintenance medication in the month before being surveyed.
"All we know from the survey is that they weren't getting the medications. We don't know whether the medications weren't prescribed by physicians, whether parents weren't getting the prescriptions filled, or whether parents were having difficulty with the administration of the medications. All we know is that they [the children] weren't getting them," Halterman tells WebMD. "So, really the next step is to examine that further and to try and find out where the deficit is, and what the best way would be to assure that the children will get the medications that they need."
Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood. According to figures from the CDC, the prevalence of asthma has grown 75% between 1980 and 1994. There have been many advances in treatment. However, hospitalizations continue to increase for the illness.
Jill S. Halterman, MD, lead author of the study, tells WebMD, "one of the reasons that we even started this study in the first place was that we knew that asthma was getting worse, we know that it's the most common chronic illness of childhood, and we know there are effective preventive medications."
"So, our question was whether or not the children were actually receiving the medications. We can't say why asthma is increasing or getting worse for children, there could be a lot of reasons ... but it does seem that children aren't receiving medications that could be helpful," she says. Halterman is with the Children's Hospital at Strong, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.
The disease currently cannot be cured, only controlled. It is a long-term, progressive disease that causes inflammation of the airways, which, in turn, can lead to difficulty breathing. Without proper care, in time, the recurrent inflammation can cause permanent lung damage.
This study focused on more than 500 children aged 2 months to 16 years from the third national health and nutrition examination survey. The children had moderate to severe asthma, and only 26% had taken a maintenance medication in the month before being surveyed.
"All we know from the survey is that they weren't getting the medications. We don't know whether the medications weren't prescribed by physicians, whether parents weren't getting the prescriptions filled, or whether parents were having difficulty with the administration of the medications. All we know is that they [the children] weren't getting them," Halterman tells WebMD. "So, really the next step is to examine that further and to try and find out where the deficit is, and what the best way would be to assure that the children will get the medications that they need."
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