Proposal of a New Composite Score (DAMADECO) to Simultaneously Evaluate Asthma and CRSwNP Severity in Comorbid Patients

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new tool called DAMADECO to assess asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps together in patients who have both conditions.

Contribution

The novel contribution is the development of a composite score (DAMADECO) that evaluates both asthma and CRSwNP severity simultaneously.

Findings

The DAMADECO score was applied to 21 patients, showing a mean composite score of −3.24.

Most patients had uncontrolled domains in both asthma and CRSwNP.

The score can track disease progression and treatment effectiveness.

Abstract

Background: Asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) are chronic respiratory conditions that frequently coexist. However, an integrated assessment tool for both conditions is currently lacking. This study aimed to develop and preliminarily evaluate a composite score capable of simultaneously assessing asthma and CRSwNP in comorbid patients. Methods: An expert panel comprising three pulmonologists, one allergist/clinical immunologist, and four ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists developed a tool to capture asthma and CRSwNP severity. The tool (D’Amato-De Corso score, or DAMADECO score) incorporates eight parameters, four specific to asthma and four specific to CRSwNP, to assign individual scores for each condition. A composite score is then calculated to reflect the overall disease burden (ranging from −8: poor control and +8: optimal control). A retrospective pilot study was conducted to evaluate the tool. Results: The DAMADECO composite score was applied to 21 comorbid patients. The mean partial scores for asthma and CRSwNP were −1.57 and −1.67, respectively, with a mean total composite score of −3.24. A total of 13 out of 21 patients had uncontrolled domains in both diseases, while fewer patients had only uncontrolled domains in asthma (1/21) or CRSwNP (6/21). The DAMADECO score also allows researchers to track disease progression and monitor treatment effectiveness. Conclusions: The preliminary results suggest that the DAMADECO score is a promising tool for simultaneously assessing asthma and CRSwNP, addressing the unmet need for an integrated approach to comorbid respiratory diseases. Further validation studies are needed to validate the tool in larger patient populations.

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