Measuring Asthma in Children Using the Peds-AIRQ

In a new episode of The Itch Review, part of the Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Innovations podcast, we break down new research that evaluates a childhood asthma questionnaire. Many children are told their asthma is “controlled.” But this is often based only on symptoms. Some children can still have serious asthma flare-ups, even when they do not have a lot of symptoms.

Our co-hosts Payel Gupta, MD, and Kortney are joined by Michael Blaiss, MD, and special guest Kevin Murphy, MD, to review the Pediatric Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (Peds-AIRQ) study. This study was published in July 2025 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

The AIRQ® tool is a questionnaire that measures both symptoms and past asthma flare-ups for adults and teens (12+ years). Researchers wanted to learn if a similar questionnaire (or tool) could be created for children ages 5 to 11.

The conversation explores why symptom-only tools can miss children whose asthma may be high-risk. They discuss how Peds-AIRQ was developed and why it asks questions about past asthma flare-ups. They also talk about how it can help doctors and patients have a better conversation about how their children’s asthma is doing.

You can listen to the podcast on ItchPodcast.com or download it for listening anytime, anywhere, at:

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Any mention of brands is also informational and not an endorsement. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical questions or concerns.

Thank you to AstraZeneca for sponsoring this episode.

Key takeaways from how the Peds-AIRQ was developed

Asthma symptoms alone do not always show how likely a child is to have a serious asthma attack. So researchers developed a new assessment tool that looks at both symptoms and past asthma attacks.

  • What is the Peds-AIRQ? The Peds-AIRQ is a short, 8-yes/no question tool for children ages 5 to 11 that asks about symptoms and past asthma attacks.
  • How the study was done. Researchers studied 399 children with asthma and tested which questions best showed whether asthma was well-controlled or not.
  • What the study found. The Peds-AIRQ was better than symptom-only tools at finding children whose asthma was not well-controlled.
  • Why this matters for families and doctors. The Peds-AIRQ helps doctors see when asthma is not doing well and helps families talk about next steps in care.
Infographic titled "The Itch Review" summarizes a pediatric asthma impairment and risk questionnaire study for children aged 5 to 11, including objectives, assessment criteria, study overview, graphs, and key findings.
Click on image to see full PDF

Timestamps for our episode about the Peds-AIRQ tool

01:38 — Meet Dr. Kevin Murphy

02:30 — Study goal and why it matters

03:30 — The burden of asthma in children

04:50 — How asthma control is usually measured

06:50 — Who was included in the study

10:00 — How the Peds-AIRQ was developed

15:00 — Choosing the final Peds-AIRQ questions

24:00 — Key study findings

31:00 — Does the tool over-label asthma as uncontrolled?

34:40 — Predicting future asthma attacks

37:55 — Should families use the Peds-AIRQ at home?

39:15 — Doctor takeaways

Childhood asthma resources

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