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.