World Asthma Month 2021: Caring For Children With Asthma

WORLD ASTHMA MONTH 2021: CARING FOR CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA Submission Details

Author: Melanie Stevens from SIMONSAYS communications.
More Info link: https://www.yes2breathe.co.za/
Images: For a high res version of THIS image please contact SIMONSAYS communications.

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References for Press Release

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3893990/ (Sub-Saharan Africa has over 50 million children under the age of 15 living with asthma, mostly in South Africa.)
2. Global Initiative for Asthma. Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention. 2020 Update. Available at: https://ginasthma.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/GINA-2020- report_20_06_04-1-wms.pdf Last accessed July 2020.
3. Burki TM. New asthma treatment recommendations. Lancet Respir Med 2019;7:479.
4. Rabe KF, Vermeire PA, Soriano JB, Maier WC. Clinical management of asthma in 1999: the asthma insights and reality in Europe (AIRE) study. Eur Respir J. 2000; 16: 802–807.
5. Tattersfield AE, Postma DS, Barnes PJ, et al. on behalf of the FACET International Study Group. Exacerbations of asthma: a descriptive study of 425 severe exacerbations. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999; 160: 594–599.
6. Adams RJ, Fuhlbrigge A, Guilbert T, et al. Inadequate use of asthma medication in the United States: results of the asthma in America national population survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2002; 110: 58–64.
7. Larsson, K., Kankaanranta, H., Janson, C. et al. Bringing asthma care into the twenty-first century. NPJ Prim. Care Respir. Med. 2020; 30, 25,
8. International Primary Care Respiratory Group. Blue Reliever Reliance Test. Available at: https://www.ipcrg.org/resources/search-resources/blue-reliever-reliance-test-english [Last accessed: July 2020] 9. http://www.globalasthmareport.org/management/southafrica.php (Asthma is the most common chronic illness in South African children and its prevalence is increasing in both urban and rural areas.)
10. Global Asthma Report: http://www.globalasthmareport.org/management/southafrica.php#:~:text=High%20mortality,%2 C%20Figures%201%20and%202)

Notes to the Editor
Asthma
Asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease, and it affects the health and day-to-day lives of as many as 339 million adults and children worldwide.13 It is an inflammatory disease characterised by recurrent breathlessness and wheezing which varies over time, and which varies in severity and frequency from person to person.1

All asthma patients are at risk of severe attacks, regardless of their disease severity, adherence to treatment or level of control.14-16 There are an estimated 176 million asthma attacks globally per year;17 these attacks may be physically threatening and emotionally significant for many patients. 18 However, despite the fact that asthma is a chronic, variable inflammatory disease, patients often under-use their anti-inflammatory ‘preventer’ therapy and over-rely on their SABA reliever, which can mask symptom worsening.3-6 Taking a SABA inhaler alone does not address the underlying inflammation, leaving patients at risk of an asthma exacerbation. 3-6 and potential exposure to frequent bursts of oral corticosteroids.4,19

The Reliever Reliance Test
The Reliever Reliance Test (RRT) has been developed by leading expert in behavioural medicine, Professor Rob Horne, University College London (UCL), with colleagues from the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) and was fully funded by AstraZeneca UK Limited. The RRT is a five-item questionnaire adapted from the validated SABA Risk Questionnaire, which in turn is a derivation of the validated Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), also developed by Professor Rob Horne, UCL. 20 The RRT is an evidence-based, practical tool that aims to assess patients’ reliance on their SABA inhaler.9 It is available in both print and digital format. Based on patients’ responses to the five questions, the RRT provides a score indicating whether the patient is likely to be at high, medium or low risk of over-relying on their SABA reliever.4 The score categories and associated feedback are aimed at helping patients understand their attitudes to SABA, and how these attitudes may be causing them to over-rely on their SABA.20 Patients are able to download their results via the digital tool and use them to discuss their asthma control with their HCP.

AstraZeneca in Respiratory & Immunology
Respiratory & Immunology is one of AstraZeneca’s three therapy areas and is a key growth driver for the Company.

Building on a 50-year heritage, AstraZeneca is an established leader in respiratory care across inhaled and biologic medicines. AstraZeneca aims to transform the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by eliminating preventable asthma attacks across all severities and removing COPD as a leading cause of death through earlier, biology-led treatment. The Company’s early respiratory research is focused on emerging science involving immune mechanisms, lung damage and abnormal cell repair processes in disease and neuronal dysfunction.

With common pathways and underlying disease drivers across respiratory and immunology, AstraZeneca is following the science from chronic lung diseases to immune-driven diseases. The Company’s growing presence in immunology is focused on five mid- to late-stage franchises with multi-disease potential in rheumatology (including systemic lupus erythematosus), dermatology, gastroenterology, and systemic eosinophilic-driven diseases. AstraZeneca’s ambition in immunology is to achieve disease control and ultimately clinical remission in targeted immune driven diseases.

AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (South Africa) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas – Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information, please visit astrazeneca.co.za.

Contacts
Developed and to contact on behalf of AstraZeneca:
SIMONSAYS communications
Beverley Bradley Melanie Stevens
072 272 5166 083 303 9667
bev@simonsayscom.co.za mel@simonsayscom.co.za

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