Introduction
The clinical features of acute SARS-COV-2 infection in children are
generally mild; accounting for <2% of cases that have
required hospitalization1. Furthermore, children with
asthma have not been severely affected, with a reduction in admissions
due to wheeze attacks having been observed during the pandemic
period2. These epidemiological characteristics were
not clear early in the course of the pandemic. Indeed, children with
asthma were perceived to be at a higher risk of suffering from severe
disease; a prospect that would reasonably be associated with high levels
of anxiety in both children and parents.
Anxiety and stress, are associated with poor asthma control and can
trigger wheeze attacks3. Moreover, parental stress can
exacerbate a child’s asthma symptoms3. We hypothesized
that the effect of social distancing measures and uncertainties around
the SARS-COV-19 infection during the peak of the pandemic would result
in detrimental effects on the emotional wellbeing of children with
problematic severe asthma, impacting symptom control.