Sheffield Children's Hospital are looking for children aged 6 to 11 years with asthma to help test a new inhaler that could improve asthma control and reduce attacks.
Asthma is a condition that can cause breathing difficulties. Children with asthma may cough or wheeze. Asthma happens because the tubes in the lungs swell and become tighter.
Through no fault of their own, some children and young people with asthma continue to suffer frequent asthma attacks, despite the usually effective therapies being available.
Asthma symptoms and attacks are normally treated with a blue inhaler that briefly opens the airways. But the effects wear off and blue inhalers don’t treat the underlying cause of asthma.
There is a combination inhaler designed to relieve the immediate symptoms and tackle the airway swelling that causes them. This inhaler works well in adults and teenagers but is not currently available to children under 12 years old.
This study will assess whether a combination inhaler works more effectively than the current treatment in children aged 6-11 years, leading to fewer asthma attacks and better control.
To test the inhaler, we need children who are:
·Aged 6 -11 years-old.
·Using inhalers to manage their asthma.
·Can attend two in-person hospital visits and two virtual visits over the course of one year.
What does taking part involve?
After an initial screening visit over the phone or video call, you and your child will be invited to attend four visits in total.
The first will be in person at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where they will ask some questions about your child’s asthma and how it affects them. If they are in the intervention group, they will be given the new inhaler and shown how to use it.
Your child will attend a follow up visit at four months and eight months. These can be done over the phone or video call. The final visit will be at your local study site in person at one year.
At all visits, you will receive an updated Personalised Asthma Action Plan for your child, and we will check to ensure your child has remembered how to use their inhalers.
If you’re interested in finding out more about this study, you can contact the study team by emailing research.sheffchild@nhs.net or visit www.careukstudy.uk/
You’ll be one of over 1,180 patients who’ve taken part in research at Sheffield Children’s in the past year. Clinical trials are incredibly important in improving the care we can provide.
To find out more about research at Sheffield Children’s, and how you can get involved, visit www.sheffieldchildens.nhs.uk/research