A hospital-based screening campaign identified significant gaps in asthma diagnosis and ongoing management among adults.


RT’s Three Key Takeaways:

  1. High Undiagnosed Prevalence: A hospital screening campaign identified probable undiagnosed asthma in 12.5% of volunteers, representing one in eight individuals tested.
  2. Management Gaps: More than 40% of participants with established asthma reported having no active medical follow-up, while nearly half were not receiving maintenance therapy.
  3. Diagnostic Strategy: Researchers found that a brief symptom assessment paired with objective fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing can effectively flag patients who require further clinical evaluation.


A hospital-based case-finding campaign identified probable undiagnosed asthma in 12.5% of volunteers, or one-in-eight participants, according to results published in the Journal of Asthma.

The initiative, conducted on World Asthma Day 2024, utilized an information desk staffed by pulmonology, allergy, and nursing professionals in a hospital lobby to recruit 112 volunteers. The study sample had a mean age of 57 years and was 75% female. Participants underwent spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing, along with a structured questionnaire assessing symptoms such as recurrent wheezing, persistent or recurrent cough, exertional shortness of breath, nocturnal symptoms, and chest tightness.

Investigators defined probable undiagnosed asthma as the presence of compatible respiratory symptoms combined with FeNO levels of at least 25 parts per billion (ppb). Using these criteria, 14 participants were flagged for potential disease.

The findings also revealed significant weaknesses in the management of established disease within the healthcare system. Of the 45 participants with a known asthma diagnosis, 42.2% lacked active medical follow-up and 46.7% were not utilizing maintenance therapy.

The investigators concluded that hospital-based awareness campaigns can support the identification of new cases and improve public education. While the campaign was limited to 112 participants and did not constitute a confirmed clinical diagnosis, the results suggest that brief assessments paired with objective respiratory testing can effectively identify individuals needing further evaluation.


Reference

Chiner, E., Boira, I., Fernandez-Martinez, P., Anton, M., Varela, B., Chacin, Y., & Martinez-Gomez, A. (2026). World Asthma Day: results of a hospital-based awareness and case-finding campaign. Journal of Asthma, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2026.2721166

This article was originally published by AMJ and was made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 License.