Journal of International Psychiatry

[Abstract] Objective To investigate the effect of anxiety on symptom control in children with school-age wheezing bronchitis. Methods Seventy-five children with school-age wheezing bronchiolitis from August 2022 to February 2024 were included and were treated with conventional therapy. Anxiety was assessed using the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) before medication administration, and the children were divided into anxious and non-anxious groups. Cough, lung rales, and wheeze cessation time were compared between the two groups. Symptom control was evaluated using childhood asthma control test (C-ACT), pediatric respiratory assessment measure (PRAM). Results Twenty-seven of the 75 children had significant anxiety, and the difference in basic information between the two groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Cough, lung rales and wheezing cessation time were longer in the anxiety group than in the control group (P<0.05). C-ACT scores were higher and PRAM scores were lower in both groups after treatment compared with before treatment, but C-ACT scores were lower and PRAM scores were higher in the anxiety group after treatment (P<0.05). Conclusion Anxiety is detected at a higher rate in children with school-age wheezing bronchiolitis, and anxiety may affect clinical symptom control.

Key words Anxiety; School Age; Children with Wheezing Bronchitis; Symptom Control