Project: Near Fatal Asthma in Children and Adolescents
A prospective survey of Near Fatal Asthma in Children and Young People to identify risks, acute care and inform future care bundle that may reduce risk of death in this population
This is an 18-month prospective British Paediatric Surveillance Unit survey of Near Fatal Asthma in Children and Young People to identify current management and risk factors. The 24-month follow up of cases will help inform future risk. A care bundle will be developed that could be used to reduce risk of death in this population.
Project overview
Asthma is a very common health condition in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). The UK has more deaths from asthma in children and young people (CYP) than any other developed health country. Asthma attacks can be different every time and for every person. There is a type of attack which makes it more likely that person will have another severe attack, and maybe die. These are called “near fatal asthma attacks”.
Work by an Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research PhD student, Ann McMurray, has developed a common definition of a ‘near fatal asthma attack’. Ann’s work also showed that depending on where they live, the care people receive after a ‘near fatal asthma attack’ can be very different. We want that to change.
Through the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit, we will perform a prospective surveillance of near fatal asthma in children aged 5-15 years across the UK and ROI. Each case will be followed up for 24 months. The study will link with PERUKI (Paediatric Emergency Research UK and Ireland) and PCCS (Paediatric Critical Care Society) to ensure we identify all cases. We will look at acute management of near fatal asthma in CYP to identify areas for future research, use data linkage to understand the impact of environmental factors on near fatal asthma attacks and follow up data to understand future risk and best practice for follow up.
What we will do
In this study, we want to find out:
- how many people have had a near fatal asthma attack
- whether there are common features found in those who suffer one of these attacks, in particular for environmental factors
- what care they received for their attack and how they responded to treatment
- what happened to their asthma in the following two years and who provided care to them in this time
We hope the results of this study will:
- help identify features that could reduce the risk of a near fatal asthma attack
- improve the consistency of care people receive after a near fatal asthma attack, which may in the future reduce the number of asthma deaths
Key People
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Steve Cunningham |
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Ann McMurray |
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Principal Investigator, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine |
Co-Investigator |
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| Based at: University of Edinburgh | Based at: NHS Lothian | ||
| Steve's Profile | Ann's Former PhD Student Profile | ||
Peter Davis |
Mark Lyttle |
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Co-Investigator, PCCS contact |
Co-Investigator, PERUKI contact |
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| Based at: Bristol Children's Hospital | Based at: Bristol Children's Hospital | ||
| Peter's Profile | Mark's Profile | ||
Lisa Findlay |
Des Cox |
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Co-Investigator, Peripheral hospital contact |
Co-Investigator, ROI contact |
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| Based at: Dumfries General Hospital | Based at: Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin | ||
| Des' Profile | |||
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Tracy Jackson |
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Co-Investigator, Centre Patient and Public Involvement Co-Lead |
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| Based at: University of Edinburgh | |||
| Tracy's Profile |
Timeline
August 2021 - January 2025
Funding
Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Department of Health – Health Improvement, Protection and Services Research HIPS/20/21