The European respiratory journal : official journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Home telemonitoring (forced expiratory volume in 1 s) in children with severe asthma does not reduce exacerbations.
Some children with severe asthma develop frequent exacerbations despite intensive treatment. We sought to assess the outcome (severe exacerbations and healthcare use, lung function, quality of life and maintenance treatment) of a strategy based on daily home spirometry with teletransmission to an expert medical centre and whether it differs from that of a conventional strategy. 50 children with severe uncontrolled asthma were enrolled in a 12-month prospective study and were randomised into two groups: 1) treatment managed with daily home spirometry and medical feedback (HM) and 2) conventional treatment (CT). ⋯ There were no significant differences between the two groups for unscheduled visits (HM 5.0 (3.0-7.0), CT 3.0 (2.0-7.0); p=0.30), lung function (pre-β(2)-agonist forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) p=0.13), Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire scores (p=0.61) and median daily dose of inhaled corticosteroids (p=0.86). A treatment strategy based on daily FEV(1) monitoring with medical feedback did not reduce severe asthma exacerbations.