Asthma is the most common long-term medical condition among children and young people and is the most common reason for urgent admissions to hospital in children and young people in England. Unfortunately, there are still a small number of avoidable deaths in children and young people from asthma every year. The UK has third highest risk of death from childhood asthma for a developed nation.
The Niox Vero breath test provides an accurate, simple, single breath test for the patient and Health Care Professional (HCP) to review at point of consultation enabling the assessment of the inflammatory status of the airways and thus supporting more accurate diagnosis and management of asthma.
Within the combined hospitals of Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust, there are over 25,000 patients (adults and children) with a diagnosis of asthma (approx. 4% with severe asthma, i.e. 1000 pts). There was over half a million pounds spent on non-elective asthma admissions in this cluster in 2018, with the prevalence of asthma being over 12% of the population.
Average use for each of the five devices would be 300 tests per annum per device, or 1,500 patient tests per annum in total, supporting patients with review of their control, risk, adherence to the ICS medication or more accurate point of care diagnosis.
Many patients with poor control or severe asthma symptoms or indiscernible diagnosis are referred to secondary care. Having these devices at point of care provides the clinical team with prompt easy access to this specific biomarker for control and diagnosis.
NICE guidance NG80 (Nov 2017) advocated that all patients should have the test to support diagnosis of asthma over 4 years of age. Many trusts provide outreach services in an integrated care programme now for respiratory management expertise and this FeNO test forms part of this key service, which would be incorporated into Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospitals already established ‘Primary care hub’.
for Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital
“The test is non-invasive, intuitive and easy to use; lightweight and portable; does not require calibration prior to each use; even children who are unable to do spirometry can do it from the age of 4 years; it provides a prompt and accurate reading of the underlying inflammation at the point of care, enabling clinicians to accurately manage the asthma in a clinic setting. NIOX single 6-10 second breath testing equipment was awarded by the Association of Respiratory physiologists and technicians, ‘Small medical device of the year’ in 2019, judged by specialist respiratory HCP’s for quality, ease of use and supporting service provided. This particular equipment was evaluated by NICE within primary care respiratory clinic setting for feasibility and ease of use and subsequently led to the NICE guidance NG80 recommendation”