IQ Research Journal-Open Access-ISSN:2790-4296

Non-Invasive Point-Of-Care Device For Early Detection And Monitoring Of Asthma In Children.

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Authors: James Omaset, Atanga Desmond Funwie. Paper Title: Non-Invasive Point-Of-Care Device For Early Detection And Monitoring Of Asthma In Children.
IQ Research Journal of IQ res. j. (2023)2(9): pp 01-13. Vol. 002, Issue 09 09-2023, pp.0551-0564

ABSTRACT

Asthma, a global public health problem today, is a heterogeneous inflammatory disorder of the
airways with diversity in its symptoms, pathological characteristics, and treatment responses. Such
heterogeneity makes asthma challenging to manage therapeutically. The Global Asthma Report of
2014 estimates 334 million people to be suffering from asthma worldwide. The 2004 Global Initiative
for Asthma (GINA) report estimates about 250,000 deaths per year worldwide, with 80% of asthma
deaths occurring in middle- and low-income countries. The prevalence of asthma attacks in children
in sub-Saharan Africa is approximately 20.3% and 41.2% in Uganda.
The most common presentation of asthma in early childhood is wheezing caused by viruses. Apart
from viral infections, other causes of asthma include allergen exposure, genetic factors, and
environmental factors. The diagnosis is made through the assessment of airway inflammation using
invasive and noninvasive techniques. The invasive technique is bronchoscopy with biopsy and/or
bronchoaleolar lavage, where pieces of lung tissue and fluid, respectively, are collected for
examination. The method is too invasive and therefore increases the risk of infection in children. The
non-invasive techniques include the analysis of induced sputum to assess biomarkers during asthma
exacerbations. This method is limited by the lack of quantification techniques for the biomarkers to
assess the level of attack. Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide, but this method does not have a
defined threshold to diagnose asthma. Then evaluation of exhaled breath condensate is necessary,
though the reliability of the acquired results in infants is still lacking. Despite measures to assess
inflammation, a diagnostic tool to detect the early onset of asthma is still lacking.
In the study, I shall propose a technique to detect the asthmatic biomarker in sputum to determine
the onset of asthma in children. This shall be accomplished in three phases: identification of a
biomarker that is common in the sputum of children in Uganda; coming up with a technique that can
identify the acquired biomarker; and finally, developing a device for early detection and monitoring
of asthma. With the suggested technique fulfilled, it is postulated that the onset of asthma in children
will easily be determined, thereby leading to appropriate treatment and management

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