Recommendations for asthma monitoring in children.
Abstract
Monitoring is a major component of asthma management in children.
Regular monitoring allows for diagnosis confirmation, treatment
optimization and natural history review. Numerous factors that may
affect disease activity and patient wellbeing need to be monitored:
response and adherence to treatment, disease control, disease
progression, comorbidities, quality of life, medication side-effects,
allergen and irritant exposures, diet and more. However, the
prioritization of such factors and the selection of relevant assessment
tools is an unmet need. Furthermore, rapidly developing technologies
promise new opportunities for closer, or even ‘real-time’, monitoring
between visits. Following an approach that included needs assessment,
evidence appraisal and Delphi consensus, the PeARL Think Tank, in
collaboration with major international professional and patient
organizations, has developed a set of 24 recommendations on pediatric
asthma monitoring, to support healthcare professionals in
decision-making and care pathway design.