Parental perceptions and beliefs about childhood asthma: a cross-sectional study.

AIM: To assess parental perceptions and beliefs about asthma in children. METHODS: We invited 6000 children aged 3 to 15 years from different schools in Lebanon to participate in the study from September 2007 to May 2008. In the first phase, in order to determine the prevalence of asthma in children, parents of all participating children filled out a small questionnaire. In the second phase, only parents of children with asthma filled out a detailed questionnaire about their perceptions of asthma. RESULTS: Phase I included parents of 4051 children, 574 (14%) of whom had asthma and were recruited to phase II. Out of these, 389 parents entered the final data analysis. Around 54% of parents believed that asthma was hereditary and 7% believed it was contagious. When asked about triggering factors, 51% stated virus infection, 75% dust, and 17% food. Sixty percent of children with asthma lived with someone who smoked. Sixty-seven percent of parents believed that herbs had a role in asthma treatment and only 49% received asthma education. There was a significant difference in education level (P=0.01) between the parents who denied the label of asthma (79%) and those who accepted it (21%). Sixty-seven percent of parents preferred oral over inhaler treatment, 48% believed inhalers were addictive, 56% worried about inhalers' side effects, and 76% worried about using inhaled corticosteroids. Significantly more parents from rural (53%) than from urban areas (38%) believed that inhalers were addictive (P=0.004). CONCLUSION: Parents of children with asthma had considerable misperceptions about the use of inhalers and the safety of inhaled corticosteroids. To improve asthma care in children, it is necessary to provide adequate education to parents.

Dipstick urine analysis screening among asymptomatic school children.

BACKGROUND: Mass urinary screening is a useful tool to identify children with asymptomatic progressive renal diseases. A dipstick urinalysis screening was conducted to detect such prevalence and to set up a more effective screening program for children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out in seven nurseries and primary schools in different regions of Lebanon (Beirut, North Lebanon, and Valley of Bekaa) between February 2010 and March 2010. Eight hundred seventy asymptomatic children were enrolled in this study. First morning mid steam urine samples were obtained from students and were tested by dipstick method. Children with abnormal findings were re-tested after fifteen days. RESULTS: Twenty five (2.9%) children had urinary abnormalities at the first screening; Eighteen (72%) of them still had abnormal results at the second screening. Among all the students, hematuria was the most common abnormality found with a prevalence of 1.5%, followed by nitrituria (0.45%), combined hematuria and nitrituria (0.45%) and proteinuria (0.1%). Urinary abnormalities were more common in females than in males. With respect to age, most positive results were detected at 6 years of age. Hematuria and proteinuria were mainly present in the North of Lebanon. CONCLUSION: Asymptomatic urinary abnormalities might be detected by urine screening program at school age. Further work-up should be offered to define the exact etiology of any abnormal finding and to determine whether early detection of renal disorders in childhood will lead to effective interventions and reduction in the number of individuals who develop end-stage renal disease.