Adequacy of management and severity of asthma in children attending a summer camp.

To assess the adequacy of therapy in asthma, 46 children with asthma attending a summer camp were asked to complete a questionnaire about their symptoms and the treatment that they had received. Each child's height, weight, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were measured. According to defined criteria of symptom severity the children were categorized as suffering from severe (48%) or mild (52%) asthma. The mean FEV1/FVC ratio (P less than 0.05) and the mean FEV1 were lower (P less than 0.02) in the children with severe asthma compared with those with mild asthma. In the group with severe asthma, 68% of the children were considered to be receiving suboptimal therapy; 45% had never had their FEV1 or FVC measured. Among those who were receiving suboptimal therapy, 40% had measurable airflow obstruction compared with 17% of children with mild asthma. Because poor management of asthma remains common in children, the need to make doctors and parents aware of the fact that suboptimal therapy may contribute significantly to the morbidity of the condition is emphasized.