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Published on: August 7, 2017
Monitoring asthma in childhood
Karin C Lødrup Carlsen1, Mariëlle W Pijnenburg2,
1Dept of Paediatrics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Insights
Monitoring childhood asthma requires tailored strategies due to unique patient factors. More research is needed to establish effective monitoring approaches for pediatric asthma control and risk reduction.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Asthma Management
- Clinical Monitoring
Background:
- Asthma treatment aims for clinical control and risk reduction.
- Effective monitoring strategies for pediatric asthma are not well-established.
- Childhood asthma presents unique challenges for assessment and monitoring.
Discussion:
- Factors influencing pediatric asthma monitoring include age, severity fluctuations, presentation variability, exacerbations, comorbidities, socioeconomic status, psychosocial elements, and environmental exposures.
- These diverse factors complicate the decision-making process for monitoring frequency, methods, and personnel.
- Current understanding of how these factors impact monitoring effectiveness is limited.
Key Insights:
- Significant knowledge gaps exist regarding optimal monitoring strategies for children with asthma.
- Current monitoring approaches may not adequately address the complexities of pediatric asthma.
- Individualized monitoring plans are likely necessary but lack evidence-based guidelines.
Outlook:
- Urgent need for well-designed studies on asthma monitoring in children.
- Collaborative, international pediatric studies are recommended to address knowledge gaps.
- Future research should focus on developing evidence-based guidelines for pediatric asthma monitoring.
Abstract:
The goal of asthma treatment is to obtain clinical control and reduce future risks to the patient. However, to date there is limited evidence on how to monitor patients with asthma. Childhood asthma introduces specific challenges in terms of deciding what, when, how often, by whom and in whom different assessments of asthma should be performed. The age of the child, the fluctuating course of asthma severity, variability in clinical presentation, exacerbations, comorbidities, socioeconomic and psychosocial factors, and environmental exposures may all influence disease activity and, hence, monitoring strategies. These factors will be addressed in herein. We identified large knowledge gaps in the effects of different monitoring strategies in children with asthma. Studies into monitoring strategies are urgently needed, preferably in collaborative paediatric studies across countries and healthcare systems.
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