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  • Quality Improvement Article
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Development and validation of asthma diagnostic scale for children

Pediatric Research (2024)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

To construct an asthma diagnostic scale for children under 6 years old.

Methods

An electronic medical record database was used to develop the scale. Item pool was established through literature survey and expert opinion. Items were screened and optimized by using the Delphi method, t-test, reactivity analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, factor analysis, reliability and validity test. The predictive probability of asthma was calculated using logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic curve. Another childhood asthma database was used to validated the scale.

Results

The asthma diagnostic scale for children under 6 years old included five dimensions: dimension 1 (shortness of breath, three concave sign, cyanosis, moist rale, heart rhythm, heart sound and dyspnea), dimension 2 (respiratory sound, cough, sputum), dimension 3 (frequency of wheezing, allergic rhinitis, history of allergy in one or both parents), dimension 4 (sex, wheezing, atopic dermatitis), and dimension 5 (reversible airflow, positive in vitro or in vivo allergy test). The Cronbach’s α coefficients for the five dimensions were 0.846, 0.459, 0.019, 0.202, and 0.024. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity were 0.737, 59.1%, and 81.2%. AUC, sensitivity, and specificity in the validation database were 0.614, 76.2%, and 46.7%.

Conclusion

The scale has significant diagnostic value for asthma in children under 6 years old.

Impact

  1. 1.

    The aim of the study was to establish an asthma diagnosis scale for children younger than 6 years old.

  2. 2.

    Our study not only addresses the lack of diagnostic criteria of young children asthma, but also indicates the accuracy of the diagnostic scale.

  3. 3.

    The data may help to reduce the missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis rate of asthma, and improve the diagnostic accuracy of the disease, and thus reduces the harm of asthma to children’s physical and mental health.

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Fig. 1: Screen plot.
Fig. 2: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of training set.
Fig. 3: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of validation set.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Shasha Bai, Linlin Qin.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

    Shasha Bai, Wenwei Zhong, Yan Ma, Li Hua & Yixiao Bao

  2. Shanghai Fourth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China

    Linlin Qin

  3. Shanghai Tonxin Clinic, Shanghai, China

    Pingbo Zhang & Yixiao Bao

Authors
  1. Shasha Bai
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  2. Linlin Qin
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  3. Pingbo Zhang
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  4. Wenwei Zhong
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  5. Yan Ma
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  6. Li Hua
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  7. Yixiao Bao
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Contributions

S.S.B.: Design of the study; data analysis, article writing; L.L.Q.: Data collation and analysis, preparing the draft; P.B.Z.: Data analysis and article revising; W.W.Z.: Collation of case data, statistic analysis; Y.M. :Statistic analysis and prepared the tables; L.H.: Prepared the figures and article revising; Y.X.B.: Have the conception and design of the study, data analysis, article revising.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yixiao Bao.

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Bai, S., Qin, L., Zhang, P. et al. Development and validation of asthma diagnostic scale for children. Pediatr Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03584-8

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