The school-based preventive asthma care trial: results of a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
To test the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the School-Based Preventive Asthma Care Technology (SB-PACT) program, which includes directly observed therapy of preventive asthma medications in school facilitated by Web-based technology for systematic symptom screening, electronic report generation, and medication authorization from providers.


METHODS
We conducted a pilot randomized trial of SB-PACT versus usual care with 100 children (aged 3-10 years) from 19 inner-city schools in Rochester, New York. Outcomes were assessed longitudinally by blinded interviewers. Analyses included bivariate statistics and linear regression models, adjusting for baseline symptoms.


RESULTS
There were data for 99 subjects for analysis. We screened all children using the Web-based system, and 44 of 49 treatment group children received directly observed therapy as authorized by their providers. Treatment group children received preventive medications 98% of the time they were in school. Over the school year, children in the treatment group experienced nearly 1 additional symptom-free day over 2 weeks versus the usual care group (11.33 vs 10.40, P = .13). Treatment children also experienced fewer nights with symptoms (1.68 vs 2.20, P = .02), days requiring rescue medications (1.66 vs 2.44, P = .01), and days absent from school due to asthma (0.37 vs 0.85, P = .03) compared with usual care. Further, treatment children had a greater decrease in exhaled nitric oxide (-9.62 vs -0.39, P = .03), suggesting reduction in airway inflammation.


CONCLUSIONS
The SB-PACT intervention demonstrated feasibility and improved outcomes across multiple measures in this pilot study. Future work will focus on further integration of preventive care delivery across community and primary care systems.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. jill_halterman@urmc.rochester.edu
Jill S
JS
Halterman
Maria
M
Fagnano
Guillermo
G
Montes
Susan
S
Fisher
Paul
P
Tremblay
Reynaldo
R
Tajon
Joseph
J
Sauer
Arlene
A
Butz
D000041:Absenteeism; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009518:New York; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011788:Quality of Life; D012572:School Health Services; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents