Management of childhood asthma: Physicians' perspective in Turkey

Many attempts have been made to decrease asthma-related mortality and morbidity, including preparation and distribution of guidelines. However, several studies from different regions of the world have reported low asthma control among children as well as adults. A questionnaire-based study was performed involving a number of Turkish physicians taking care of pediatric asthmatics, and aimed to document asthma-related knowledge. Of 219 physicians, 126 (57%) completed the questionnaire. The majority were pediatricians (92%), with an average of 253 +/- 14.1 outpatients per week, and an asthmatic ratio of 15.8%. According to the self-reported knowledge, management of acute asthma received the highest (3.42 +/- 0.05) and chronic asthma the lowest scores (3.18 +/- 0.06). The study group further credited inhaled and oral steroids similarly for the treatment of exacerbations and reported infrequent usage of spirometry and oxygen saturation than physical finding to estimate attack severity. Although with regard to most subjects, physicians' opinions appeared to be in agreement with the guidelines, there were certain differences implying need for future educational training. Chronic management, reported as the least understood part of the guidelines, suggests requirement of new models for estimating chronic disease severity.