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Accuracy of symptom perception in childhood asthma
G K Fritz1, R B Klein, J C Overholser
1Department of Psychiatry, Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence.
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Child Health
Background:
- Accurate assessment of pediatric asthma relies on children's symptom reports.
- Limited data exists on the reliability of children's subjective asthma symptom perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of children's subjective asthma symptom reports.
- To correlate children's perception with objective lung function measures.
Main Methods:
- Correlated children's subjective asthma symptom reports with peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) measurements.
- Analyzed an average of 34 observations across 37 children with asthma.
Main Results:
- Individual child correlations between subjective reports and PEFR varied widely (0.86 to -0.16).
- Perceptual accuracy was not influenced by child's age, sex, asthma duration, or severity.
Conclusions:
- Children's subjective asthma symptom reporting accuracy varies significantly.
- Clinical practice should consider the variability in children's perception of their asthma symptoms.
Abstract:
Children's reports of their asthma symptoms are used as important data in the assessment and management of pediatric asthma, but little is known about the accuracy of such reports. Children's subjective perception of the level of asthma symptoms was correlated with peak expiratory flow rate measures on average of 34 observations for 37 children with asthma. Subjective/objective correlations for a given child varied from 0.86 to -0.16. The children's perceptual accuracy was not related to age or sex, or to duration or severity of asthma. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.