Performance and Adherence in Children Using Spacers

NCT05366309 | Active Not Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: 3022
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 43
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Asthma is a common disease which causes swelling in the airways, making it difficult to breathe. Asthma is common in children, affecting 1 in 11 children in the UK. Asthma is treated with inhalers which reduce the swelling. If inhalers are taken correctly they can help keep symptoms under control, allowing asthma sufferers to go about their day with less chance of having an asthma attack. Many patients have been found to not take their inhalers correctly and either under use (which leads to poor control of symptoms) or over use (which leads to potential side effects). Although asthma in most patients can be controlled with inhalers, not using inhalers correctly is one of the most common causes of poor control. This is common in children and young people (CYP) with all severities of asthma, resulting in high burden on the families and healthcare systems. The biggest challenge facing doctors and nurses helping CYP with asthma is finding a way to ensure that they take the medication. Whilst there are many studies looking into inhaler use, there are no large studies about how inhalers are used between clinic visits in CYP with asthma. The Smart Spacer is monitoring device which allows doctors to monitor when and how effectively inhalers are being used. This study wants to find out how well this device works, how well and how often CYP are using their inhalers, and if tailored education improves asthma control. To do this, participants in the study will be randomly selected to have "tailored education" or "standard care education". The investigators are inviting 100 children and young people (CYP) aged 6-18 years who have asthma to join this study.

Conditions

Asthma in Children; Asthma

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Overall adherence to inhaled treatment (the product of persistence (number of doses taken as prescribed) and technique)

  Overall adherence

  From recruitment up until 12-16 weeks follow-up time point

Secondary Outcomes (15)

• The proportion of children and young people with asthma who are eligible for participation within the study from secondary care via screening logs

  From recruitment up until 12-16 weeks follow-up time point

• Recruitment and attrition rates over the study via screening and enrolment logs

  From recruitment up until 12-16 weeks follow-up time point

• The success rate of obtaining data from the Smart spacer device

  From recruitment up until 12-16 weeks follow-up time point

• Feedback from System Usability Score (SUS)

  At 12-16 weeks follow-up time point

• Feedback from Net Promoter Score (NPS)

  At 12-16 weeks follow-up time point

Study Arms (2)

Standard Care (Control) Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants randomised to this group will receive usual care in terms of their education.

Other: Standard care education

Tailored Education Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants randomised to this group will receive tailored education, which is additional to standard care.

Other: Tailored education

Interventions

Tailored education OTHER

Tailored Education: A delegated investigator will review the SD memory card data and share the results with the participant and/or parent/guardian. The investigator will explain whether there are partial or critical errors to inhalation technique that have been recorded. The participant will be informed about their overall adherence; including how and when they used their asthma medications. If errors in medication use are identified, specific coaching will be provided to help eliminate errors.

Tailored Education Group

Standard care education OTHER

Participants randomised to this group will receive usual care in terms of their education.

Standard Care (Control) Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 6-18 years;
• Attending secondary care with a diagnosis of asthma;
• Willing and able to give fully informed consent, or, participants having an acceptable individual capable of giving consent on the participant's behalf (e.g. parent or guardian of a child under 16 years of age);
• Able to perform lung function and exhaled nitric oxide measurements;
• Take twice-daily preventer medication using a valved holding chamber (spacer device) i.e. inhaled corticosteroid with or without long-acting beta antagonist;
• Willing and able to comply with the study procedures.

You may not qualify if:

• Significant co-existing respiratory disease (e.g. cystic fibrosis);
• Currently participating in another clinical trial of an investigational medicinal product or medical device;
• Non-English speaker where translation facilities are insufficient to guarantee informed consent.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust: lead

Study Sites (1)

Robert James Bowler

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST44JJ, United Kingdom

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Asthma

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Bronchial Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity, Immediate; Hypersensitivity; Immune System Diseases

Study Officials

• Will Carroll

  PI

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 20, 2022
• First Posted: May 9, 2022
• Study Start: September 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Last Updated: March 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Locations

GB (1)