The AioCare system is used as a home self-monitoring tool in a prospective, observational cohort study of a drug for severe eosinophilic asthma, produced by one of the world’s pharmaceutical concerns. Fifty adult patients diagnosed with severe eosinophilic asthma (defined by blood eosinophilia ≥300 cells / μl and at least three asthma exacerbations in the previous year) will be recruited for the study. To check patients’ condition, the University of Vienna Hospital together with the Hietzing Hospital in Vienna purchased 50 AioCare devices with access to mobile applications and a panel for researchers. The study will last twelve months, and its purpose is to check the effectiveness of the new drug and assess its impact on improving the quality of life of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. One of the parameters for assessing their condition is the result of the daily FEV-1 measurement (forced expiratory volume in one second).

Patient recruitment has been ongoing since November 2019. By mid-January, 17 patients had been included in the study. They performed 580 tests, of whom 176 showed pulmonary obstruction. The study is an attempt to test the possibility of conducting a joint clinical trial on a larger group of patients by both research institutions. Austrian researchers, Prof. Dr. Marco Idzko from the Faculty of Pneumonology at the University Hospital in Vienna and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Pohl, from the Department of Respiratory and Lung Diseases of the Hietzing Hospital in Vienna are responsible for the entire process.
– In our study, we use the AioCare system to check the daily, documented level of the FEV-1 parameter before and after the application of the study drug. We chose AioCare because it is the least burdensome method of home self-control for our patients. In addition, we see their results in real-time in a panel to which we have access. This significantly automates the entire process. – prof. Marco Idzko says.

Asthma currently affects around 315 million people worldwide and is expected to reach over 400 million by 2020 (GINA 2018, Chanez P, Humbert M. Eur Respir Rev 2014; 23: 405–07). Although most asthma patients can be controlled by standard maintenance therapy (high doses of ICS / LABA +/- LAMA), there is a subset of patients who remain uncontrolled. In a significant proportion of patients with severe asthma, persistent eosinophilia is a feature of uncontrolled asthma. Eosinophilia in the blood and respiratory tract is associated with an increased risk of asthma exacerbations, a high burden of symptoms and lung dysfunction. Therefore, new treatments such as anti-IL-5 / anti-IL-5R drugs that reduce eosinophil levels have been shown to reduce asthma exacerbations, control symptoms and improve lung function (Humbert M. Lancet Respir Med. 2018 Jan; 6 (1): 7-8). The purpose of this study is to assess the early clinical efficacy, tolerability, and safety of the new drug in actual clinical practice.