Childhood asthma: healthcare resource utilisation in those with and without a diagnosis of the condition

Abstract

To examine healthcare utilisation and the direct financial costs in providing medical care to a population of children aged 5-15 years with respiratory complaints. Secondarily, to assess whether these costs depended upon having specific asthma diagnosis or not.Method: A postal respiratory questionnaire was sent to the parents or guardians of all children registered with two general practices. A search of the general practice medical records over a 2-year reference period was made for a stratified random sample and results are presented for 488 children aged 5-15 years.Results: The cost of primary care lower respiratory tract consultations in children with 4-5 symptoms/risk factors was d17.02 per patient per year for those with a previous diagnosis of asthma compared with d6.08 per patient per year for those with the same number of symptoms but no diagnosis (t ¼ À4:446; Po0:001). The cost of primary care lower respiratory consultations in those with no GP diagnosis of asthma and no symptoms/risk factors was d2.25 per patient per year.Conclusions: Studies, which fail to include the costs associated with treating children with respiratory symptoms but without a formal diagnosis, will seriously underestimate the costs of treating asthmatic children.

Impacto de un botadero a cielo abierto en el desarrollo de síntomas respiratorios y en costos familiares de atención en salud de niños entre 1 y 5 años en Cali, Colombia

“…Más aun, se ha sugerido que la mayor frecuencia de síntomas respiratorios tiene consecuencias, no sólo en la salud de los niños, sino también en la economía familiar, de los servicios de salud y de la sociedad en general (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). La presentación de una enfermedad en una familia genera costos directos e indirectos, que afectan negativamente la economía del hogar.…”