Evaluation of the clinical efficacy of anti-asthma pharmacotherapy in children using the software package based on the Fishburn method

Aim: to assess the clinical efficacy of pharmacotherapy regimens using a software package. The article presents a method for assessing the clinical efficacy of pharmacotherapy regimens in children with exacerbation of bronchial asthma (BA); the method is based on comparing the treatment regimens by their significance using the Fishburn method. Materials and methods. We retrospectively analyzed the results of pharmacotherapy in 608 pediatric patients with BA treated in the hospital of Nizhny Novgorod in 2014-2015. We adopted the Fishburn method for determining the weights of each of the used regimens and their subsequent distribution by levels of clinical efficacy. The software was developed using high level C ++ language in the Borland Developer Studio 2006 environment. Results and discussion. The distribution included three levels (high, medium and low) and the subsequent clinical efficacy assessment – two levels (high and low). The high level (0.167-0.250) pertained to the combination of inhaled glucocorticosteroids (IGCS), short-acting β 2- agonists (SABA) and antagonists of leukotriene receptors (ALR), the combination of IGCS, long-acting β 2-agonists (LABA) and ALR, and the combination of IGCS and ALR. The average level (0.083-0.167) was given to the combination of SABA and ALR and the combination of IGCS and LABA. The low level (0-0,083) included the combination of IGCS and SABA and IGCS monotherapy. When classified by two levels of clinical efficacy, the following results were obtained: the high level (0.125-0.250) – the combination of IGCS, SABA and ALR, the combination of IGCS, LABA and ALR, the combination of IGCS and ALR, and the combination of SABA and ALR; the low level (0-0,125) – the combination of IGCS and LABA, the combination of IGCS and SABA, and IGCS monotherapy. The calculating algorithm for the software “Computer program for the distribution of drugs by levels of clinical efficacy” is presented. Conclusion. It has been shown that the combined anti-asthma therapies based on IGCS and ALR are characterized by a high level of clinical efficacy.