Paediatric Asthma and Wheeze Study - Part 1

Wheeze, a breath sound that may indicate asthma, is very common in children; ~50% of all preschool aged children have an episode of wheeze and 40% of these children have recurrent wheeze. Also, asthma is the most common chronic illness in children. Yet, identifying wheeze is challenging for parents (disagreement rate between doctors and parents are >50%) and indeed many cultures (including Indigenous Aus) do not have a word for wheeze. Our multicentre study addresses the need to define wheeze accurately using digital technology. We will use WheezeScan (WzS) digital technology during face-to-face clinics as well as remotely (child’s home) in Queensland (including outreach clinics), Darwin and Sydney. Recruiting children from the hospitals and outreach clinics, we plan a cohort study involving 102 preschool children suspected of having asthma. We aim to determine whether using WzS improves the diagnosis of asthma, patient related outcomes (PROs) and health cost. WzS’s dependable accuracy will provide parents/caregivers and doctors the ability to discern if a child is wheezing-subsequently providing the confidence and clarity over the next steps that need actioning. Our study will improve the detection and consequently the management of preschool wheeze by the accurate diagnosis of reversible airway obstruction/asthma. Our proposal will fulfil a large unmet clinical need and research gap, identified by our patients, parents, parent advisory group, clinicians, Asthma Foundation of NT, as well as Australian data and international surveys.