Treatment decisions in children with asthma in a real-life clinical setting: the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC).
Publisher DOI
PubMed ID
34695597
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Asthma treatment should be modified according to symptom control and future risk, but there is scarce data on what drives treatment adjustments in routine tertiary care.
OBJECTIVE
We studied factors that drive asthma treatment adjustment in paediatric outpatient clinics.
METHODS
We did a cross-sectional analysis of the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC), a clinical cohort of 0-16-year-old children seen by paediatric pulmonologists. We collected information on diagnosis, treatment, lung function and Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) from hospital records; and on symptoms, sociodemographic and environmental factors from a parental questionnaire. We used reported symptoms to classify asthma control and categorised treatment following the 2020 GINA guidelines. We used multivariable logistic regression to study factors associated with treatment adjustment (step-up or down vs. no change).
RESULTS
We included 551 children diagnosed with asthma (mean age 10 years, 37% female). At the clinical visit, most children were prescribed GINA Step 3 (35%). Compared to pre-visit treatment, 252 (47%) children remained on the same step, 227 (42%) were stepped-up and 58 (11%) were stepped-down. Female sex (aOR 1.61, 95% CI 1.05-2.47), poor asthma control (3.08, 1.72-5.54), and a lower Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1) Z-score (0.70, 0.56-0.86 per 1 Z-score increase) were independently associated with treatment step-up, and low FeNO (2.34, 1.23-4.45) with treatment step-down, with a marked heterogeneity between clinics.
CONCLUSION
In this tertiary care real-life study, we identified main drivers for asthma treatment adjustment. These findings may help improve both asthma management guidelines and clinical practice.
Asthma treatment should be modified according to symptom control and future risk, but there is scarce data on what drives treatment adjustments in routine tertiary care.
OBJECTIVE
We studied factors that drive asthma treatment adjustment in paediatric outpatient clinics.
METHODS
We did a cross-sectional analysis of the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC), a clinical cohort of 0-16-year-old children seen by paediatric pulmonologists. We collected information on diagnosis, treatment, lung function and Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) from hospital records; and on symptoms, sociodemographic and environmental factors from a parental questionnaire. We used reported symptoms to classify asthma control and categorised treatment following the 2020 GINA guidelines. We used multivariable logistic regression to study factors associated with treatment adjustment (step-up or down vs. no change).
RESULTS
We included 551 children diagnosed with asthma (mean age 10 years, 37% female). At the clinical visit, most children were prescribed GINA Step 3 (35%). Compared to pre-visit treatment, 252 (47%) children remained on the same step, 227 (42%) were stepped-up and 58 (11%) were stepped-down. Female sex (aOR 1.61, 95% CI 1.05-2.47), poor asthma control (3.08, 1.72-5.54), and a lower Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1) Z-score (0.70, 0.56-0.86 per 1 Z-score increase) were independently associated with treatment step-up, and low FeNO (2.34, 1.23-4.45) with treatment step-down, with a marked heterogeneity between clinics.
CONCLUSION
In this tertiary care real-life study, we identified main drivers for asthma treatment adjustment. These findings may help improve both asthma management guidelines and clinical practice.
Date Issued
2022-04
Publication Type
Article
Subjects
asthma management children clinical practice
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Barben, Juerg | |
Jochmann, Anja | |
Jung, Andreas | |
Mueller-Suter, Dominik | |
Regamey, Nicolas |
Journal
Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice
Publisher
Elsevier
ISSN
2213-2198
Access(Rights)
open.access