Evaluation of the Impact of Environmental Changes on Asthma Control in Children, Access to Health Care, and Treatment Adherence in Early COVID-19 Lockdown

Özet

Objective: During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, lockdown measures and diffi- culties in accessing healthcare have impacted asthma management in children. This study aimed to determine the evaluation of the impact of environmental changes on asthma con- trol in children, access to health care, and treatment adherence in early coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown. Materials and Methods: The study included children with asthma aged 6-11 years. A sur- vey form was administered to the patients who visited the pediatric allergy outpatient clinic between June 1 and 30, 2020. The survey acquired demographic information about the chil- dren and their families as well as information about their asthma symptoms, how they reached healthcare services, and adherence. The childhood asthma control test was administered. The P values <.05 were considered significant. Results: The study included a total of 123 children (female/male : 48/75) with a mean age of 8.4 ± 1.9 years. According to the mothers’ self-report, it was found that 78% of the patients were not able to follow-up routinely, 19.5% were non-adherence to treatment, and 16.2% were poorly controlled asthma. It was found that, based on childhood asthma control test scores, asthma control was better during the pandemic lockdown period (P = .001). Asthma symptoms were better in 41.5% of the patients compared to the previous months and in 53.7% compared to the same period last year. Conclusion: Our study found that the children’s asthma was controlled although most of them did not have their follow-up visits, and poorly controlled asthma was higher in older children in early coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown