The effect of symptom diary on asthma control in asthmatic children

The effect of symptom diary on asthma control in asthmatic childrenAim: Symptom diaries consist of asthma control parameters such as diurnal-nocturnal symptoms and need for reliever medication. Our hypothesis is that asthma control would be better in children that keep symptom diary than the ones who do not.Methods: We included asthmatic children aged 6-17 years old who have been followed in our clinic for at least two years and attended our outpatient department at least twice in the last year. They were grouped into two according to keeping a symptom diary or not. Patient files, hospital records and prescriptions in the previous year were examined for the primary study parameter, the number of acute asthma attacks that required systemic corticosteroid use and for secondary parameters that are the number of asthma attacks that require emergency department care, hospitalizations and asthma control test score and FEV1.Results: Eightynine (26.2%) of 340 patients included were keeping symptom diary. The groups did not differ according to age(p=0.20), sex(p=0.48) or atopy(p=0.77) but regular anti-inflammatory treatment use which was more frequent in the group that kept symptom diary (p<0.001). The effect of symptom diary on primary and secondary study parameters were analysed by multivariate logistic and lineer regression analysis controlled for regular anti-inflammatory treatment. Keeping symptom diary did not effect the number of acute asthma attacks that required systemic corticosteroid use (OR=1.19, % 95 GA=0.56 ? 2.51, p=0.63), emergency department care (OR=1.20, %95 GA=0.65 ? 2.21, p=0.54) and hospitalizations in the previous year (OR=0.48, % 95 GA= 0.14 ? 1.62, p=0.14), asthma control test score (ß= -0,42, % 95 GA= -1.32 ? 0.47, p=0.34) and FEV1(ß= -1.16, % 95 G= -5.18 ? 2.85, p=0.56).Conclusion: Keeping symptom diary was not shown to improve asthma control in children.Key words: symptom diary, asthma control test, asthma control