Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have devised a more precise and cost-effective method for predicting asthma diagnoses in children through the utilization of electronic health records. This innovative approach could potentially boost early detection rates and mitigate the risk of asthma progression in young patients.

In a recent publication in eClinicalMedicine, the team of researchers improved an existing tool known as the Pediatric Asthma Risk Score by incorporating electronic health record data to develop a novel passive digital marker. This marker, which is calculated based on routinely collected medical history information, aims to identify childhood asthma risk.

The study was spearheaded by Arthur Owora, Ph.D., who serves as an associate professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and a research scientist at Regenstrief Institute.

Owora expressed optimism about the potential impact of the childhood asthma passive digital marker in clinical settings, emphasizing its role in enhancing early asthma risk detection in high-risk children. This, in turn, could lead to earlier interventions that improve asthma management and reduce the likelihood of hospitalization.

Collaborating with Owora on this study were Benjamin Gaston, MD, vice chair of translational research at IU School of Medicine, and Malaz Boustani, MD, director of the Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science.

The researchers discovered that the new passive digital marker outperformed the traditional Pediatric Asthma Risk Score in predicting asthma diagnoses in children aged 4 to 11. The study involved an analysis of records from nearly 70,000 children born between 2010 and 2017, utilizing data from the Indiana Network of Patient Care databases.

While clinicians are currently adept at assessing asthma risk, Owora highlighted the potential for this digital marker to streamline the process by summarizing a patient's medical history more efficiently, resulting in earlier and more accurate predictions regarding medical care.

The research team plans to conduct a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the childhood asthma passive digital marker in increasing early asthma diagnoses among high-risk children. Additionally, the trial will assess whether the marker reduces the time between a child meeting asthma diagnosis criteria and receiving a formal diagnosis.

If successful, the researchers aim to scale up the implementation of this digital marker to ensure the benefits of early detection extend beyond the state level.