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A New Web Score to Predict Health Status in Paediatric Patients with Chronic Diseases: Design and Development of the
Francesca Mastorci1, Lamia Ait-Ali1, Pierluigi Festa2
1Clinical Physiology Institute, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Area della Ricerca di Pisa (CNR), 56124 Pisa, Italy.
Insights
The PENSAMI study develops a predictive model for pediatric chronic diseases (CD), focusing on clinical and psychosocial care. This model aims to improve patient outcomes and personalize treatment strategies for conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and asthma.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric chronic disease management
- Psychosocial health in children
- Personalized medicine
Background:
- Pediatric chronic diseases (CD) require lifelong management, impacting lifestyle and expectations.
- Current care often focuses on disease cure, neglecting crucial psychosocial aspects.
- The PENSAMI study addresses the holistic needs of children with CD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a predictive model for pediatric chronic diseases (CD).
- To integrate clinical and psychosocial factors for comprehensive patient care.
- To establish personalized therapeutic and preventive strategies for childhood CD.
Main Methods:
- Data collection from 150 pediatric patients with heart disease, diabetes, and asthma, and 200 healthy controls.
- Phase 1: Model development using clinical, anthropometric, environmental, lifestyle, social, emotional, and mental ability data.
- Phase 2: Validation of the predictive model.
Main Results:
- The study aims to predict re-hospitalization, disease progression, therapy adherence, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
- It will also predict obesity, metabolic syndrome, illness-stress, school dropout, and academic performance.
- The predictive model will be validated in the second phase.
Conclusions:
- The PENSAMI model aims to prevent and halt the progression of childhood CD.
- It seeks to improve diagnostic tools and pave the way for innovative treatments.
- The ultimate goal is to create personalized therapeutic and preventive strategies for pediatric cardiology, diabetes, and respiratory diseases.
Abstract:
Paediatric chronic diseases (CD) are characterised by their ongoing duration and the fact that they are often managed throughout the lifespan, with the need to adjust lifestyle and expectations with the limitations coming from the CD. The aim of the PENSAMI study is to not only cure the disease, but to also care for the person from a clinical and psychosocial perspective. Data will be collected from 150 paediatric patients affected by heart disease, diabetes, and asthma admitted during in-hospital stay or outpatient visits, and from 200 healthy control subjects. The protocol will consist of two phases. The first one will aim at elaborating the predictive model by detecting (clinical, anthropometric at birth, environmental, lifestyle, social context, emotional state, and mental abilities) in order to develop a model predictive of the events considered: (1) re-hospitalisation; (2) severity and progression of the disease; (3) adherence to therapy; (4) HRQoL; (5) obesity and metabolic syndrome; (6) illness-stress related; (7) school drop-out; (8) school performance. The second one will address validating the previous predictive model. This model will aim to: (1) understand, prevent, and halt the progression of childhood CD; (2) develop new and improved diagnostic tools; (3) pave the way for innovative treatments and additional therapies to traditional clinical practice; and (4) create truly personalised therapeutic and preventive strategies in various sectors, such as cardiology, diabetes, and respiratory diseases.
