Advancing Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Asthma (Care4Asthma)

March 24, 2026 updated by: Luxembourg Institute of Health

Advancing Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Asthma by Deep Immunophenotyping and Evaluation of Two Spacer Devices for Inhaled Corticosteroid Administration

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, and treatment success often depends on proper inhaler use and consistent medication adherence. Exposure to allergens and pollutants can also impact treatment response and asthma control. Moreover, there is a growing need for non-invasive biomarkers to support better diagnosis and personalized care. The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate if a new digital inhaler can improve inhalation technique and treatment adherence in children aged 5 to 16 years old, with partly controlled or uncontrolled asthma requiring treatment with inhaled corticosteroids. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does the use of a digital inhaler improve adherence to inhaled corticosteroids and asthma control in children?
  • Which biomarkers could support diagnosis and help predict treatment responses in children with asthma?
  • How do environmental factors influence asthma control and treatment outcomes?

Researchers will compare adherence to inhaled corticosteroid therapy between children using a new digital inhaler (Whizz spacer) and those using a standard, non-digital inhaler (AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu®) to see if the digital inhaler improves treatment administration and asthma control. They will quantify inflammatory markers in biological samples from asthmatic children and children without respiratory disease, to find biomarkers linked to disease and treatment response.

Participants will:

  • Use the Whizz spacer or the AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu® during 12 weeks for corticosteroid inhalation, and complete daily a study diary to follow treatment administration.
  • Complete asthma control and quality of life questionnaires and have an evaluation of asthma control through GINA score at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks.
  • Undergo spirometry tests and FENO measurements at baseline and 12 weeks.
  • Give biological samples at baseline and 12 weeks.
  • Collect children's bedroom dust samples at baseline.
  • Wear a bracelet for 7 days at baseline and 12 weeks to monitor physical activity.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

208

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Luxembourg
      • Luxembourg, Luxembourg
        • Recruiting
        • Luxembourg Research Clinic (LRC)
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Anna-Maria Charatsi, MD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient aged between 5-16 years, male or female
  • Physician diagnosis of asthma requiring a controller treatment with ICS or ICS/Long-acting beta-agonists (LABA) via MDI
  • Partly controlled or uncontrolled asthma based on GINA criteria and definitions
  • Informed consent signed by legally authorized representatives (LAR) and assent from young patient (only applicable for children ≥ 10 years)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with severe asthma exacerbation treated with systemic corticosteroids within the last 2 weeks or patients with active respiratory tract infection
  • Diagnosis of underlying chronic lung disease other than asthma (e.g., BPCO/cystic fibrosis etc.)
  • Severe asthma based on GINA definitions
  • Severe underlying disorders ((severe congenital heart disease, oncologic patients) (non-exhaustive list, left to the evaluation of the PI))
  • Immune deficiency or under immunosuppressive treatments
  • In receipt of immunotherapy (only for participants in Luxembourg donating samples for biomarker research)
  • Patients with neurological diseases / impaired cognitive disorder
  • Siblings of patients already included in the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Inhaled corticosteroid administration in asthmatic children using AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu®
Asthmatic children use AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu® to inhale their corticosteroid containing medication for 12 weeks. This inhaler is standard and does not have light indicators to monitor treatment administration.
Device: AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu®
AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu® is a standard valved holding chamber used to administer aerosolized medication from the metered dose inhaler to the patient.
Experimental: Inhaled corticosteroid administration in asthmatic children using the Whizz spacer.
Asthmatic children use Whizz spacer to inhale their corticosteroid containing medication for 12 weeks. This inhaler has inhalation flow rate monitor with light indicators and is linked to a mobile application, to monitor treatment adherence and administration.
Device: Whizz spacer system
Whizz spacer is a new digital valved holding chamber that is intended to administer aerosolized medication from the metered dose inhaler to the patient. It allows monitoring of treatment administration through light indicators and a mobile application.
No Intervention: Non-asthmatic children
Non-asthmatic children, male or female, aged 5-16 years old, who have a blood test foreseen in their medical routine follow up for a non-respiratory disease, are recruited for a single visit at baseline.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Measurement of inhaled corticosteroid therapy adherence and comparison between the two spacers
Time Frame: From enrolment to the end of the intervention at 12 weeks
Adherence rate will be measured by the entries in the study booklet as well as weighing the medication canisters at baseline, 6 weeks and at 12 weeks. Researchers expect to determine if light indicators and digital reminders on the Whizz spacer led to increased adherence to treatment and thus to a better clinical outcome in asthmatic children, as compared to a standard spacer.
From enrolment to the end of the intervention at 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Assessment of asthma control
Time Frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)
Asthma control will be assessed by clinical evaluation, objective lung function tests and patient questionnaires. Researchers want to compare asthma control in children using the Whizz spacer and the standard spacer.
At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)
Quantification of inflammatory markers and deep immunophenotyping of circulating immune cells to identify non-invasive biomarkers and immune signatures
Time Frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)
Inflammatory markers will be quantified in biological samples obtained from asthmatic children. Researchers expect to determine biomarkers and immune signatures associated with response to inhaled corticosteroid treatment and to different asthma endotypes. These biomarkers could be used for asthma diagnosis and to predict treatment response and asthma exacerbation.
At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)
Assessment of patients' environmental exposure
Time Frame: At baseline
Allergens will be analyzed in the dust collected during 2 weeks in the children's bedroom and pollutants will be identified in the children's hair. Researchers want to describe factors of environmental exposure which are linked to a poor response to treatment, immune imbalance and risk of asthma exacerbations.
At baseline
Monitoring physical activity using accelerometer bracelet
Time Frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)
Physical activity will be monitored for one week, at baseline and at the end of the intervention, using an accelerometer bracelet. Researchers expect to follow the evolution of physical activity, as better asthma control will most likely translate into more physical activity.
At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Luxembourg Institute of Health

Collaborators

Centre Hospitalier du Luxembourg
Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR)
Meracle Health (Luxembourg) S.à.r.l

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Christiane Hilger, PhD, Luxembourg Institute of Health

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 2, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 24, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 30, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 24, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CNER N°202506/05
  • PPPHealthTech2021/16734157 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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