ASTHMA PREVALENCE AND COSTS: In terms of prevalence, asthma is one of the major non-communicable diseases, affecting more than 300 million people all over the world and being the major disease affecting children. It is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, although the exact underlying factors are not completely understood. The stronger risk environmental factor is the exposition to inhaled substances and particles that may provoke allergic reactions or irritate the airways. The gradual increase of population living in urban areas is associated with an estimated increase of people affected by asthma up to 400 million in 2015.
Regarding costs, the economic burden of asthma is considerable both in terms of direct costs (hospital admissions and costs of medication) and indirect costs (work absence and premature death). Direct asthma cost represents approximately 1-3% of the total medical expenditures in most countries, while indirect costs account for almost 50% of the total costs. Solely in Europe, the total costs of asthma are estimated at €17.7 billion per year. The threatening figures make effective asthma management a major priority for the healthcare systems.
COST SAVINGS ACHIEVABLE BY ASTHMAPOC: ASTHMAPOC is a point-of-care device aimed at the determination of FENO levels in exhaled breath by the patients at home. FENO determination has been demonstrated to be a very useful tool in monitoring this disease so to enhance asthma management. Similar devices like NIOX MINO have proved to reduce the cost in asthma diagnosis by 51€ (£43) per patient and the costs of asthma management by an average of 537€ (£341 for patients with mild to severe asthma and cost-savings of £554 for those with moderate to severe asthma). These results are really encouraging in what refers to the use of FENO determination as an alternative for the diagnosis and clinical management of asthma. However, the ASTHMAPOC device differs from the NIOX MINO device in one important key feature, ASTHMAPOC is conceived as a product for patient use, while NIOX MINO is intended as a device for clinical use.
