Asthma-specific quality of life questionnaires in children: are they useful and feasible in routine clinical practice?

This study used well-validated quality of life (QOL) instruments to compare the QOL scores achieved by children aged 7-17 years with the views of their parents of the effects of their child's asthma on family life. Also, a comparison was made between the child's QOL scores and the judgment of the clinician in charge in regard to asthma control. There was poor correlation between the overall scores of the children and the overall caregiver's score (r = 0.19, P = 0.18), and no correlation between the child's score and assessment of control given by the clinician in charge of the case (r = 0.02, P = 0.98). It is important to recognize that there may be little relationship between the concerns of the child regarding his or her asthma, the effects on the family as reported by a parent, and the clinician's view of asthma control. This recognition may significantly affect treatment planning with the family. The administration of the QOL instrument used in this study was straightforward and quite quick, with a mean time to completion of about 8 min. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.