Publications by authors named "Hannah Wardman"
Introduction: The diagnosis of asthma is often based on characteristic patterns of symptoms in the absence of an alternative explanation, resulting in over and under diagnosis. Therefore, diagnostic guidelines usually recommend including confirmation of variable airflow obstruction. Some recommend using a sequence of objective tests; however the tests used, the specific cut-off values and the specified order are yet to be validated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Considerable variability exists between asthma diagnostic guidelines. We tested the performance characteristics of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines for the diagnosis of asthma in adults.
Methods: In this prospective observational study (ISRCTN-11676160, May 2019-June 2022), participants referred from primary care with clinician-suspected asthma underwent comprehensive investigation including: spirometry, bronchodilator reversibility, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, peak expiratory flow variability, bronchial challenge testing with methacholine and mannitol, and responsiveness to inhaled corticosteroid therapy.
Article Synopsis
- Researchers created a percentile chart for measuring fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels in nonasthmatic children to establish a more accurate range based on age and height, rather than using fixed cut-off values.
- The study utilized data from multiple cohorts, including the Manchester Asthma and Allergy Study and SEATON, to analyze FeNO levels in various age groups and health statuses.
- The findings suggest that a FeNO measurement above the 90th percentile is highly effective in identifying children at risk for asthma, indicating the need for further testing and potential clinical use of this new chart.