Improving indoor air quality to help children with asthma

Evidence Driven Indoor Air Quality Improvement

This study looks at how indoor air quality affects children with asthma to see if improving it can help them breathe better and prevent asthma problems.

Quick facts

• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 200 (estimated)
• Ages: 6 Years to 14 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Children's Hospital Srebrnjak (Academic / other)
• Locations: 1 site (Zagreb)
• Trial ID: NCT05992389 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This observational study aims to identify the mechanisms behind different asthma phenotypes in children and their relationship with indoor air quality. By combining detailed clinical phenotyping with various -omics data, the study seeks to personalize treatment options and develop effective prevention strategies for childhood asthma. Given the significant impact of poor indoor air quality on children's health, the research will explore how these environmental factors contribute to asthma development and outcomes. The study will include both asthmatic children and non-asthmatic controls to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates include school-aged children with a clinical diagnosis of asthma who are on stable anti-inflammatory treatment and have partially controlled or uncontrolled asthma.

Not a fit: Patients with known inborn or perinatal pulmonary diseases or those requiring oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation after birth may not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this study could lead to improved treatment and prevention strategies for childhood asthma by addressing the impact of indoor air quality.

How similar studies have performed: While the relationship between air quality and asthma has been studied, this specific approach combining clinical phenotyping with -omics data is relatively novel and untested.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* school aged participants with asthma (patients with a clinical diagnosis of asthma (according to European Respiratory Society (ERS) and American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines) for at least a year , being on a stable dose of anti-inflammatory treatment for at least one month with partially controlled or uncontrolled asthma according to GINA guidelines)
* non-asthmatic school aged participants (matching control subjects)
* signed informed consent, .
* additional inclusion criteria include clinically significant allergy to indoor and outdoor allergens, with positive skin prick test (SPT) and specific IgE levels (\>0.7 kUA/L) (UA = allergen-specific unit)

Exclusion Criteria:

* known inborn or perinatal pulmonary disease;
* pulmonary malformation;
* oxygen therapy after birth with a duration of more than 24h;
* ventilator support or mechanical ventilation after birth;
* diagnosis of cystic fibrosis;
* primary ciliary dyskinesia;
* heart failure diagnosed after birth affecting pulmonary circulation;
* major respiratory diseases such as e.g. interstitial lung disease,
* acute respiratory infection at recruitment,
* use of systemic corticosteroids,
* recent asthma-related visit to emergency department (in the past three weeks)
* coexistence of other serious chronic illness. Moreover, children will be excluded from study visits and biomaterial collection in the case of fever of at least 38.5°C during the last two weeks prior to the planned visit.

Where this trial is running

Zagreb

• Children's Hospital Srebrnjak — Zagreb, Croatia (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Mirjana Turkalj, Prof., MD

Conditions Asthma in Children; Pollution; Exposure; indoor air quality; asthma