Diagnostic verification and routing of children with bronchial asthma using the current information system capabilities

Abstract

Asthma is a heterogeneous, chronic, and recurrent inflammatory lung disease that also affects children. In recent decades, the incidence of bronchial asthma has been steadily increasing. In 2021, asthma affected 0.89% and 1.87% of Russian children aged 0–14 and 15–17 years, respectively; however, the prevalence of asthma according to official statistics is lower than the real data. Therefore, a significant proportion of patients do not receive proper treatment, which ultimately affects the quality of life of these patients and their parents. Early and accurate diagnosis of bronchial asthma and identification of children with an uncontrolled disease course will provide an opportunity to select/change therapy to achieve remission, thereby preventing possible negative consequences of the disease. In Moscow, according to Order No. 947n of the Ministry of Health of Russia, to improve the quality of medical services, including outpatient care, the Unified Medical Information and Analytical System (UMIAS) has been implemented, which has improved the availability and quality of medical services of public healthcare institutions in the city. This study proposes simple algorithms, and their integration into the UMIAS system will facilitate diagnosis verification for pediatricians and provide allergologists with tools for timely and structured routing of patients with uncontrolled bronchial asthma.