Telemedicine as a tool for clinical follow-up of asthma during the Coronavirus pandemic and data management via the RED-Cap platform

• Grant number: 20/10600-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2020
• End date: November 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Adyléia Aparecida Dalbo Contrera Toro
• Grantee: Victoria Luiza Alves de Souza
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The new reality imposed by the coronavirus pandemic implies the reinvention of ways to do scientific research and follow up on chronic diseases. Among chronic diseases in the pediatric age group, asthma stands out. With a prevalence of around 20% in pediatrics, causing an important individual and collective impact, regular follow-up becomes a fundamental basis for treatment. In this context, we will deploy telemedicine to assess the cohort of children and adolescents with severe asthma during the pandemic using the Red-Cap platform as a tool for data storage. The objective of this work will be the implantation of telemedicine and the programming of the Red-Cap platform for management and data collection and to compare the clinical data obtained through Telemedicine with the data from face-to-face consultations prior to the pandemic. Method: Creation of a database on the REDCap platform, linked to the Faculty of Medical Sciences of UNICAMP. Inserting data from patients with previous asthma diagnoses, who are being followed up in a pediatric pulmonology outpatient clinic at the Integrated Research Center of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at UNICAMP. Comparison of clinical data obtained through telemedicine after 3, 6 and 9 months in relation to treatment adherence, asthma control and the patient's quality of life compared with data obtained in face-to-face consultations. Expected results: Making clinical follow-up via telemedicine possible for a cohort of adolescents and children with severe asthma during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic would have similar clinical results in disease control, treatment adherence and quality of life when compared to face-to-face clinical follow-up. In addition, the insertion of data obtained in the RED-Cap platform would allow the continuity of lines of research related to severe asthma.