Home nebulizers in childhood asthma. Parental perceptions and practices
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C A Ryan1, A R Willan, B A Wherrett
1Department of Pediatrics, Hotel Dieu Hospital, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
Home nebulizers offer a well-tolerated asthma therapy for children, reducing hospitalizations and in-patient days. This approach is particularly beneficial for severe asthma cases, improving overall child health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Home nebulizer therapy is an alternative for pediatric asthma management.
- Parents often acquire nebulizers due to challenges with other inhaler types or oral medications.
- Asthma management in children requires effective and accessible treatment options.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document parental experiences with home nebulizer therapy for pediatric asthma.
- To assess the impact of home nebulizer use on asthma morbidity in children.
- To evaluate the tolerability and effectiveness of home nebulization programs.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was administered to parents of asthmatic children using home nebulizers.
- Parental responses were analyzed to understand reasons for nebulizer acquisition and usage patterns.
- Retrospective data compared hospital admissions and in-patient days before and after home nebulizer use.
Main Results:
- 75% of parents responded to the questionnaire.
- Daily nebulizer users were more likely to have had severe asthma prior to home therapy (p=0.0035).
- Significant reductions were observed in hospital admissions (1.7 vs 0.7; p<0.001) and in-patient days (4.1 vs 1.7; p<0.0001).
Conclusions:
- Home nebulizers are well-tolerated by children and parents.
- Home nebulization programs may be associated with decreased asthma morbidity in children.
- Home nebulizers represent a viable and effective option for managing pediatric asthma.
Abstract:
Seventy five percent of 91 parents of asthmatic children (aged 6 months to 15.4 years) with home nebulizers, responded to a questionnaire that sought to document parental experience with this form of therapy. The most common indications for acquiring a nebulizer were inability to use metered dose inhalers and poor response or intolerance to oral medications. When the children were classified into those who used the nebulizer daily (27/69) and those who used it less than daily (42/69), we found that the daily users were more likely to be in the severest category of asthma, by parental assessment, prior to the home nebulization program (p = 0.0035). Retrospective, uncontrolled comparison before and after the acquisition of a home nebulizer showed significant decreases both in hospital admissions (1.7 vs 0.7; p less than 0.001) and total in-patient days (4.1 vs 1.7; p less than 0.0001). Home nebulizers are well tolerated by parents and children alike and may be associated with decreased morbidity.