Although the practice of physical activity is recommended for children with asthma, the scientific literature available so far has focused mainly on improving functional capacity and quality of life. However, the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in this population, especially in improving the level of physical activity in daily living (PADL) and activities of daily living (ADLs) have not yet been investigated in depth. Therefore, the objective of this study is to verify the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on PADL, ADL, and other clinical outcomes of children with asthma. For this, a randomized clinical trial will be carried out that will have 2 groups: the control group (CG), which will receive only educational sessions, and the intervention group (IG) which will participate in a pulmonary rehabilitation program with supervised aerobic training performed three times a week with sessions of 60 minutes each. The total duration of interventions in both groups will be 12 weeks. The primary outcomes of this study are PADL (assessed using a physical activity monitor - Actigraph) and ADL; however, the following will also be evaluated: lung function, functional capacity, asthma control, and quality of life. We hypothesized that the performance of regular physical activity and supervised physical exercise by individuals with asthma could positively impact health outcomes with better control of asthma symptoms, better performance in ADL and PADL, and better quality of life.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
60
The group will receive free physiotherapy treatment with aerobic exercises, 3x/week, 60 minutes a day, lasting 3 months, in addition to educational sessions in a playful way.
Centro de Pesquisa e Pós Graduação na Unopar
Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Physical activity
Number of steps per day, time spent (in minutes and percentage of the day) in light-intensity and moderate to vigorous physical activities, measured by a triaxial activity monitor.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Sedentary behavior
Time spent (in minutes and percentage of the day) in sedentary activities, measured by a triaxial activity monitor.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
The activity of daily living
Time on a specific test to evaluate activities of daily living in children
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Initial assessment about general characteristics and health status
A questionnaire will be prepared to cover all these topics: age, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), history of prematurity, personal, family, and surgical history, in addition to comorbidities. These data will be used to characterize the sample and the questionnaire will be answered with the help of the family member.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Pulmonary Function
Spirometry determining the forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/ FVC index.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Asthma Control
The asthma control questionnaire (ACT or ACT-C) will be applied according to the child's age, to determine if the asthma is controlled. The ACT consists of five questions. The score for each question varies between 1 and 5 points. The minimum score of the questionnaire is 5 points and the maximum score is 25 points. The ACT-C, which will be applied to children younger than 11 years and 12 months, consists of seven questions, four of them answered by the child and three by parents or guardians, with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum of 27.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Exacerbation and medication diary
Diaries will be given to patients in which individuals with asthma or their guardians must record any asthma exacerbations, as well as the use of medications for the disease. Exacerbations will be defined as the use of oral corticosteroids due to worsening symptoms; the need for a doctor's appointment or emergency care due to worsening symptoms. These data may be used as confounding factors in the statistical analysis in case of eventual exacerbations and/or changes in medications during the intervention.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Quality of life in asthma
The Pediatric Asthma Quality Of Life Questionnaire (PAQLq), consists of 23 questions divided into three domains: physical activity limitations, symptoms, and emotions. Responses will be measured on a 7-point scale, where 1 indicates maximum loss and 7 indicates no loss. This questionnaire has already been translated and validated for the Brazilian language, for the population of children and adolescents with asthma and the other questionnaire used to assess quality of life in children, the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL), Structurally, it consists of 27 items divided into 8 subscales: pain and injuries, nausea, anxiety about the procedure, anxiety about the treatment, concerns, difficulties cognitive, perception of physical appearance, communication. The scale consists of 5 response options, like "Likert": "never", "rarely", "sometimes", "often", and "almost always" .
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Sleep assessment
Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) assesses parents' perception of their children's sleep during the previous week or, if not representative for some reason, during a more recent typical week. The frequency of sleep behaviors is rated on a three-point scale, such as "usually" (five to seven times a week, totaling three points), "sometimes" (two to four times a week, totaling two points), or " rarely" (0 to once a week, totaling one point).
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Parents' knowledge about the child's illness
Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire - Short form (AKQ) The scale contains 10 statements, and responses are given on a 5-point Likert scale, with responses ranging from "totally disagree" to "totally agree", ranging from 1 to 5 respectively. Negative items will be reverse-coded by subtracting the response value from 5. This implies that the correct answer is always "strongly agree" for all questions. The final score is the sum of all responses, ranging from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater knowledge of asthma.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Family Health Questionnaire
The purpose of this questionnaire is to obtain information about the health behavior of those responsible and the health behavior of the child. Answering the questionnaire will take about 45 minutes of the parents' time and will be applied while the child performs the functional tests.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Report of performance in physical activities
Preschool-age Children's Physical Activity Questionnaire (Pre-PAQ) and Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) according to age.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Motivation scale
A simple question based on the transtheoretical model of behavior change about self-reported motivation and physical activity behavior will be applied to children.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Submaximal exercise capacity
To assess this outcome, the six-minute walk test (6MWT) and sit-to-stand (STS) will be used. The 6MWT will be performed according to international standards. Individuals will be instructed to cover the longest possible distance in 6 minutes in a 30-meter-long flat corridor, without running. Two tests will be performed with a minimum interval of 30 minutes. Sit-to-stand: The test will be performed using a chair that ensures 90 degrees of hip, knee, and ankle flexion. When individuals are instructed with the word "go", they will have to get up immediately without delay and sit down again, repeating the procedure as many times as they can within 1 minute, the number of repetitions will be counted.
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
Maximal exercise capacity
Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT): The ISWT will be performed in a 10 m-long corridor as per the original description. It is a test externally cadenced by a sound signal, in which the speed increases every minute, ranging from 1.79 to 10.2 km/h. The total test time and the distance covered by the patient will be recorded at the end of the test
Time frame: 12 weeks from randomization
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