Assessment of care levels and control in children diagnosed with asthma

Abstract

Introduction: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with multifactorial lower airway hyperresponsiveness. Brazil is estimated to have 20 million asthmatics, and the low resolution capacity of its primary care, the lack of protocols to regulate referrals and the difficulty in hiring medical professionals lead to an increase in referrals to specialized care services. Objective: To evaluate the children attended to in a specialized care service. Methods: In the Children’s Pulmonology Outpatient Clinic of Sorocaba Hospital (CHS), questionnaires addressing basic personal data and questions related to the patients’ asthma were applied. The results were analyzed using the chi-square statistical method. Results: The percentage of children who had up to three asthma flare-ups treated at home was higher than that of children who had more than three seizures. No relationship has been demonstrated between the presence of a pediatrician in the neighborhood or city of origin and asthma control. The latter is also unrelated to the number of appointments at the CHS Children’s Pulmonology Outpatient Clinic. Conclusion: Chronic diseases significantly impact individual health and public health, and the successful implementation of health policies leads to expanded access to primary health care and reduced mortality. There should be investments to improve access to primary health care, since control remains poor even in a secondary health center, whereas communication between the two spheres, if fluid, can ensure more satisfactory results.