Queen's University Belfast

Academic Institute

Jonathan Stewart

E054

Severe Asthma is confirmed asthma that is poorly controlled despite maximum treatment available in primary care. This patient subgroup is difficult to diagnose and associated with significant morbidity. A proportion of patients with severe asthma have a disease subtype characterised by a raised blood eosinophil count known as Severe Eosinophilic Asthma (SEA). These patients are at increased risk of asthma attacks. New specialist treatments which target blood eosinophils are now available and have been shown to reduce asthma attacks and improve symptoms for patients with SEA. However, there is significant inequality in access to specialist asthma care across the United Kingdom, with unacceptable variation in prevalence, frequency of exacerbations, and health outcomes across geography, age, ethnicity and socio-economic groups. Asthma patients have healthcare records held in various databases throughout the Health and Social Care system. Linkage of these records into a single anonymised dataset presents a unique opportunity to better understand this high-risk subgroup and to shed light on how inequalities in care and outcomes might be mitigated. We plan to the harness the unique benefits of linked Northern Ireland healthcare record data to determine the prevalence, characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with SEA in Northern Ireland. This novel proof of concept study could lead to improved clinical outcomes and pave the way for similar linkage studies for other conditions.

Asthma is one of the most common conditions seen in primary and secondary care. Severe Eosinophilic Asthma (SEA) is difficult to diagnose amongst the wider asthma population and is responsible for a significant proportion of asthma morbidity, with frequent unscheduled presentations to primary and secondary care. Patients with SEA are known to have better outcomes if identified and offered specialist assessment. New specialist treatments which target blood eosinophils are now available and have been shown to reduce asthma attacks and improve symptoms for these patients. However, there is significant inequity in the access to specialist asthma care across the United Kingdom. Currently we do not fully understand the SEA disease burden in Northern Ireland, the determinants of progression to SEA, or the extent of inequity in access to specialist services. This project aims to identify the prevalence and characteristics of SEA in Northern Ireland. We aim to identify the determinants of variability in access to specialist care. This could be used to guide public policy by targeting resources where they are needed, potentially enhancing the efficiency and delivery of asthma care.

20/12/2019

TRE