New asthma tests spell relief for Quebec patients and healthcare teams

In Quebec, it's not unusual for patients—who are most often children—to wait up to two years for asthma testing and diagnosis. And during that time, their symptoms can progress and their health can deteriorate rapidly. For patients with respiratory concerns, having access to adequate treatment is crucial.

The challenges faced by patients waiting for asthma tests

Currently, there are 3,000 patients waiting for asthma testing and diagnosis at the three centres involved in the project. Studies are now being conducted in the hopes of reducing these wait times. Dr. Couillard and his team realized that clearing the wait list wouldn’t be possible using current practices. This prompted them to take action so that Quebec could import and rapidly implement a new test method from Europe. Their work could advance research into better asthma treatments.

What the team proposes is to use both inflammatory biomarker testing and breathing tests, a combination that is not only more effective, but also much more suitable to the needs of patients over the age of six presenting with symptoms of asthma. In addition, the proposed approach is significantly less exhausting for patients than the usual method, which involves inducing a real asthma attack. This innovative approach improves patients' quality of life by making asthma testing a lot less stressful and making the chronic disease easier to manage.

Fast-tracking a study to get past bureaucratic requirements and get better asthma tests approved

While there is ample international literature supporting the new diagnostic approach, bureaucratic red tape requires a study to be conducted in Quebec before it can be implemented. Dr. Couillard and his team responded by swiftly setting up a large-scale study to meet the requirement. A project of this size and scope would normally take five years to complete, but this dedicated team doubled down to get it done in a single year. This involved bringing in additional resources to increase the number of patients in the study, accelerate the pace of their work and pursue better quality results.

Dr. Couillard's asthma testing initiative has not only improved patient care, it has also had a positive impact on the healthcare system. Since the new test method can be carried out by family doctors, patients don't have to wait as long to get the treatments they need. It also helps identify higher-risk patients, which means that the most serious cases can receive more timely care. Their research is also a driving force behind this advancement. Another benefit of the new approach is that it lightens the workload for various departments, allowing short-staffed teams to dedicate their time to more serious cases.