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Marked Variation in Paediatric Problematic Severe Asthma Services Across Australia and New Zealand
Ajay Kevat1,2, Samuel Dalton3, Bernadette Goddard4
1Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Queensland Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.
Insights
Children with severe asthma in Australia and New Zealand face inconsistent care due to varied services. Most centers lack multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), impacting management and transition to adult care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
- Severe Asthma Management
- Healthcare Service Delivery
Background:
- Severe asthma affects over 10% of children in Australia and New Zealand (NZ), posing significant management challenges.
- A subset of these children (up to 5%) have problematic severe asthma (PSA), requiring specialized care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To survey tertiary pediatric respiratory services across Australia and NZ.
- To assess the prevalence of children with problematic severe asthma (PSA).
- To evaluate the availability of biologic therapies, multidisciplinary team (MDT) services, investigations, and transition care processes.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional observational study utilizing a custom-designed online survey.
- The survey was distributed to Directors of 14 public pediatric respiratory services across Australia and NZ.
- Data collection occurred over three months with regular email reminders.
Main Results:
- All 14 sites responded to the survey.
- An estimated 561 children with PSA were seen across 12 sites, with 53 receiving biologic treatment.
- Most sites (8/14) lacked MDT approaches, managing patients in general or asthma clinics. Only 4/14 sites had established transition-to-adult care processes.
Conclusions:
- Significant heterogeneity exists in service availability and PSA management across tertiary centers in Australia and NZ.
- The lack of MDT models of care in most centers deviates from international best-practice standards for PSA management.
- Children with PSA may experience variable quality of care depending on their geographic location.
Aims:
Asthma affects > 10% of children in Australia and New Zealand (NZ), with up to 5% of those having severe disease, presenting a management challenge. We aimed to survey tertiary paediatric respiratory services across Australia and NZ using a custom-designed questionnaire, to conduct a cross-sectional observational study of the numbers of children with problematic severe asthma (PSA) seen, the number treated with biologic therapy, outpatient clinic/multidisciplinary team (MDT) services available, investigations and tools routinely used and approaches utilised for transition to adult care.
Methods:
A custom-designed online survey was distributed via email to Directors of public paediatric respiratory services across Australia and NZ (n = 14). Reminders to prompt completion were emailed regularly over 3 months.
Results:
All sites provided survey responses. The estimated number of children with PSA across 12 sites was 561 (53 prescribed biologic treatment); two sites felt unable to provide accurate estimations. Most sites (n = 8) did not have a MDT approach either as MDT clinics or meetings; patients were managed in either asthma (n = 7, 50%) or general respiratory clinics. Most sites (85%) utilised questionnaires regarding asthma control for assessment, although some utilised additional questionnaires. Remaining tools and investigations varied widely across centres. Only four sites (29%) had established processes for transition to adult care.
Conclusions:
Given notable heterogeneity in service availability and PSA management across tertiary sites, children may experience variability in care dependent on their location. Most centres lack MDT models of care, which are considered the international best-practise standard for management of children with PSA.
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