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NEW ORLEANS — Children with severe asthma have significantly higher levels of serum IgE and exhaled nitric oxide than adults, based on data from 47 consecutive patients with severe asthma.
Severe asthma affects fewer than 10% of all asthma patients, but it accounts for a disproportionate number of all asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits, said Dr. Jonathan Malka of National Jewish Health in Denver.
Few studies have examined the phenotypic differences in severe asthma based on age, and recognizing the differences and similarities could help clinicians identify severe asthmatics, Dr. Malka said.
To compare levels of impairment and inflammation in children and adults, Dr. Malka and his colleagues evaluated 23 children and 24 adults with severe asthma who presented to National Jewish Health. The average age of the children was 12 years, and the average age of the adults was 47 years. The mean asthma durations were 9 years in children and 27 years in adults. The results were presented in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Serum IgE was significantly higher in children than in adults (about 600 IU/mL vs. about 200 IU/mL). Similarly, exhaled nitric oxide levels were significantly higher in children than in adults (about 54 parts per billion vs. about 27 parts per billion).
Children with severe asthma had significantly less lung function impairment than did adults, based on two measures of lung function. Forced vital capacity (FVC) in children was 94% of the predicted value vs. 72% in adults. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) in children was 73% of the predicted value vs. 56% in adults. Children also fared better than adults in terms of the FEV1/FVC ratio and in changes in FEV1 after using albuterol, but those differences were not significant.
Children and adults showed no significant differences in three measures of asthma morbidity: weekly albuterol use, annual asthma exacerbations, and lifetime hospitalizations.
The study was limited by the small sample size, but the biomarker findings suggest pathophysiologic differences in asthma based on age—although adults and children alike were equally compromised, Dr. Malka said. Additional research may help clinicians adjust management of their severe asthma patients based on age, he said in an interview.
Dr. Malka had no financial conflicts to disclose.
To watch an interview of Dr. Malka, go to www.youtube.com/user/ElsGlobalMedicalNews
NEW ORLEANS — Children with severe asthma have significantly higher levels of serum IgE and exhaled nitric oxide than adults, based on data from 47 consecutive patients with severe asthma.
Severe asthma affects fewer than 10% of all asthma patients, but it accounts for a disproportionate number of all asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits, said Dr. Jonathan Malka of National Jewish Health in Denver.
Few studies have examined the phenotypic differences in severe asthma based on age, and recognizing the differences and similarities could help clinicians identify severe asthmatics, Dr. Malka said.
To compare levels of impairment and inflammation in children and adults, Dr. Malka and his colleagues evaluated 23 children and 24 adults with severe asthma who presented to National Jewish Health. The average age of the children was 12 years, and the average age of the adults was 47 years. The mean asthma durations were 9 years in children and 27 years in adults. The results were presented in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Serum IgE was significantly higher in children than in adults (about 600 IU/mL vs. about 200 IU/mL). Similarly, exhaled nitric oxide levels were significantly higher in children than in adults (about 54 parts per billion vs. about 27 parts per billion).
Children with severe asthma had significantly less lung function impairment than did adults, based on two measures of lung function. Forced vital capacity (FVC) in children was 94% of the predicted value vs. 72% in adults. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) in children was 73% of the predicted value vs. 56% in adults. Children also fared better than adults in terms of the FEV1/FVC ratio and in changes in FEV1 after using albuterol, but those differences were not significant.
Children and adults showed no significant differences in three measures of asthma morbidity: weekly albuterol use, annual asthma exacerbations, and lifetime hospitalizations.
The study was limited by the small sample size, but the biomarker findings suggest pathophysiologic differences in asthma based on age—although adults and children alike were equally compromised, Dr. Malka said. Additional research may help clinicians adjust management of their severe asthma patients based on age, he said in an interview.
Dr. Malka had no financial conflicts to disclose.
To watch an interview of Dr. Malka, go to www.youtube.com/user/ElsGlobalMedicalNews
NEW ORLEANS — Children with severe asthma have significantly higher levels of serum IgE and exhaled nitric oxide than adults, based on data from 47 consecutive patients with severe asthma.
Severe asthma affects fewer than 10% of all asthma patients, but it accounts for a disproportionate number of all asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits, said Dr. Jonathan Malka of National Jewish Health in Denver.
Few studies have examined the phenotypic differences in severe asthma based on age, and recognizing the differences and similarities could help clinicians identify severe asthmatics, Dr. Malka said.
To compare levels of impairment and inflammation in children and adults, Dr. Malka and his colleagues evaluated 23 children and 24 adults with severe asthma who presented to National Jewish Health. The average age of the children was 12 years, and the average age of the adults was 47 years. The mean asthma durations were 9 years in children and 27 years in adults. The results were presented in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Serum IgE was significantly higher in children than in adults (about 600 IU/mL vs. about 200 IU/mL). Similarly, exhaled nitric oxide levels were significantly higher in children than in adults (about 54 parts per billion vs. about 27 parts per billion).
Children with severe asthma had significantly less lung function impairment than did adults, based on two measures of lung function. Forced vital capacity (FVC) in children was 94% of the predicted value vs. 72% in adults. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) in children was 73% of the predicted value vs. 56% in adults. Children also fared better than adults in terms of the FEV1/FVC ratio and in changes in FEV1 after using albuterol, but those differences were not significant.
Children and adults showed no significant differences in three measures of asthma morbidity: weekly albuterol use, annual asthma exacerbations, and lifetime hospitalizations.
The study was limited by the small sample size, but the biomarker findings suggest pathophysiologic differences in asthma based on age—although adults and children alike were equally compromised, Dr. Malka said. Additional research may help clinicians adjust management of their severe asthma patients based on age, he said in an interview.
Dr. Malka had no financial conflicts to disclose.
To watch an interview of Dr. Malka, go to www.youtube.com/user/ElsGlobalMedicalNews