Asthma Exacerbation and Parents Perspective of Their Children’s Asthma Control in Malaysia: A Multicentre, Cross-sectional Study 

Clinical Research Results Abstract Introduction:Asthma exacerbation is one of the important factors determining asthma control in children. We aimed to explore the asthma exacerbation among asthmatic children and their parents' perspectives regarding their children’s asthma control. Methodology:We recruited asthmatic children aged 6-11 years old and their parents from 24 paediatric clinics in the Malaysian public hospitals between 1st October 2020 and 31st January 2021. The children and their parents answered a questionnaire regarding their typical asthma exacerbation and perspective of asthma control. Results:We recruited 756 pairs of children and their parents. The children were male (424, 56.1%) with mean age of 100.6 months (SD 20.54 months). Based on GINA 2019, their asthma control were classified as well-controlled, partly-controlled and uncontrolled i.e. 515(68.1%), 180(23.8%) and 60(7.9%) respectively. About 90% of children identified their precipitating factors in their asthma exacerbation as viral infection (442, 58.5%), certain food (169, 22.4%), exercise (162, 21.4%), and extreme weather (120, 15.9%). During asthma exacerbation, they used SABA at home (574, 75.9%), clinic or ED visits (307, 40.6%), prednisolone (206, 27.2%), cough mixture (146, 19.3%) and hospital admission (224, 29.6%). 94.3% of the children were given asthma education in the past and written asthma action plan (713, 94.3%). About 68.3% of mothers and 62.9% of fathers perceived their children asthma control as good despite their children required hospital admission during asthma exacerbation.Discussion: About 30% of asthmatic children did not achieve good asthma control and required hospital admission during asthma exacerbation. Most parents had false perspective regarding their children's asthma control which can affect their compliance to therapy. Clinicians may need new approach to manage this barrier in order to achieve good asthma control among children. Research Idea Abstract Service Development & Evaluation Abstract Declaration of Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. References and Clinical Trial Registry Information