Study of Factors Associated with Poor Asthma Control in Children Aged 1 to 14 Years Attending Department of Paediatrics of a Teaching Hospital

Despite the availability of new pharmacological options and novel combinations of existing drug therapies, the rate of suboptimal asthma control is still high. A prospective observational study was conducted to determine the factors affecting the control of asthma among children of 1-14 years suffering from bronchial asthma.100 paediatric cases of bronchial asthma attending the paediatric department (outpatient and wards) of teaching hospital from December 2014 to May 2016 were included in the study. All the enrolled children with bronchial asthma were followed at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months and level of control and factors affecting poor control in different age groups were noted. Of the 100 children studied, 26 cases were newly diagnosed and remaining cases were previously diagnosed cases. Among the factors affecting the poor control of asthma difficulty with devices was the main factor affecting the control in 1-4 years group. Irregular follow up visits and passive smoking were the main factors affecting control in 5-11 years age group and allergic rhinitis was the main factor affecting the control in the age group of 12-14 years.