Asthma Management in the Era of Smart-Medicine: Devices, Gadgets, Apps and Telemedicine

Abstract

Asthma is the most common chronic pediatric condition. Effective asthma management requires a proactive and inclusive approach that controls the patient's symptoms and prevents recurrence of exacerbations. Clinicians should encourage patients to become involved in their management since self-management approaches have proven to be an effective means for chronic illness treatment. Novel forms of self-monitoring and management are technological interventions. In the last decade, novel technology has been developed and used to improve asthma control since it is a powerful agent that addresses a variety of challenges in chronic disease management such as education, communication and adherence. A myriad of technology-based strategies are available although many of these are not evidence based and further studies are needed to evaluate their efficacy in specific asthma-control endpoints. Herein, authors present a review of current and future technology-based options for asthma management and a comparison between them.

A randomized controlled trial of a mobile application‐assisted nurse‐led model used to improve treatment outcomes in children with asthma

“…Studies also showed that appropriate asthma management measures to ensure patient treatment adherence could significantly improve clinical outcomes for children with asthma (Farzandipour, Nabovati, Sharif, Arani, & Anvari, 2017; Global Initiative for Asthma, 2017; Morton et al, 2017). Computer and internet applications are more frequently applied in health care these days and asthma management programs adopting technological interventions to encourage patient engagement could improve asthma management (Arnold, Stingone, & Claudio, 2012;Katwa & Rivera, 2018;Morita et al, 2019;Trivedi, 2015;Voorend-van Bergen et al, 2015). With the popularity of smartphones in recent years, people's interest in whether children with asthma could benefit from a nurse-led asthma management model when combined with a mobile application has increased.…”

Telehome monitoring of symptoms and lung function in children with asthma

“…They appreciated the playfulness and ease of use of the device. This enthusiasm for connected devices is part of the era of smart-medicine where more and more devices, gadgets, and applications are being offered to patients 22 . However, the clinical effectiveness of most of these technology-based strategies is not evidence-based and further studies are needed to assess their reliability.…”

Aerosol Therapy in Asthma–Why We Are Failing Our Patients and How We Can Do Better

“…This more detailed assessment could be used to risk stratify patients and to identify those who may develop a serious exacerbation, alerting both the patient and their clinician. Sensors can be wearable but attempts are being made to also incorporate them into clothing (91).…”