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Asthma Attacks: Parents Slow to Respond
Reported February 12, 2010
(Ivanhoe Newswire)-- A new report finds parents of kids with asthma
wait too long to treat their symptoms.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say
parents are missing opportunities to intervene early and relieve a child's
symptoms, possibly reducing the severity of the attack and preventing trips
to the ER.
For the study, asthma coaches called 101 parents of children who had recent
visits to the hospital with an asthma attack, or who called the hospital's
After Hours Call Center. Parents reported noticing signs such as coughing,
wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness or pain, cold or allergy
symptoms, or even behavioral signs such as becoming quiet or more agitated.
"Every time the child had an exacerbation, many parents noticed the same
medley of signs preceding it," Jane Garbutt, M.B., Ch.B., associate
professor of medicine and pediatrics, was quoted as saying. "But even though
they noticed the signs consistently, they often didn't do anything about it.
If parents had known to give treatment like albuterol earlier, they may have
been able to manage things at home and avoid a trip to the emergency room."
Another problem researchers noted: Parents didn't notice the early signs
that predict an attack. One in four parents who was interviewed reported
seeing late signs of an attack, including gasping for breath or sucking in
the rib muscles when breathing.
"Those kids have to go to the emergency department because they are too far
along in their exacerbation to do anything at home," Garbutt said. "If we
can talk to parents and find out that's the issue, we can teach them to take
action sooner."
Garbutt and fellow researchers are doing a follow-up study in which coaches
are working with doctors to promote earlier use of albuterol as well as
other effective self-management behaviors. The coaches are also working with
parents to help them indentify the early signs of an asthma attack.
Source: Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, February 2010 |
