Edward Dompeling, paediatric lung specialist and researcher, appointed professor
Better quality of life for children with lung disease
A demonstrably better quality of life for children who suffer from asthma and cystic fibrosis. This is the ultimate goal of paediatric lung specialist and CAPHRI researcher, Edward Dompeling, who has recently been appointed professor of Early Diagnosis, Monitoring and Treatment of Lung Diseases in Children. “When I look at these children’s quality of life,” says the new professor, “I see that there’s still a lot of room for improvement”.
Even since he studied medicine in Nijmegen, Dompeling has dedicated himself to people with lung disease, and somewhere along the way his focus narrowed to children. After obtaining his PhD in Nijmegen, he spent five years working at the paediatric hospital, Erasmus MC-Sophia, in Rotterdam. In 2000, he started to work as a paediatrician in Maastricht, becoming a paediatric lung specialist in 2003.
Right from his first day in Maastricht, Dompeling has been closely involved in research at CAPHRI, on the basis of his work as a paediatric lung specialist. In his eyes, research must have a clinical and practical orientation, with a clear added value for patients. In recent years, he has focused on developing research methods that are significantly less invasive for children. In collaboration with Maastricht Instruments, for example, he developed a breath condenser that cools and condenses the oxygen breathed in through a tube. The condensation can then be examined for infectious substances. Dompeling was also in the driver’s seat for another important new research method: the analysis of exhaled breath, simply obtained by having children blow into a balloon.
Both research methods play an important role in the plan of approach for his professorship, says Dompeling. “In the next five years, I’d like to focus on research aimed at developing a reliable instrument for early asthma diagnosis in young children”. Early diagnosis is critical. Currently, asthma complaints are difficult to distinguish from passing complaints with similar characteristics, which, in practice, often leads to overtreatment. But at the same time, asthmatic children are now sometimes being undertreated, which can lead to permanent damage to their airways.
“Soon we’ll know which substances are important in diagnosing asthma early, and we already have various instruments to find those substances – but the techniques could be much simpler. That’s why we’re researching how to better integrate and simplify our knowledge and instruments, to arrive at a reliable measurement instrument and method that pediatricians and GPs can use independently.”
In this study, CAPHRI is working with the independent research organisation TNO and the University of Twente, a partnership which the NWO recently selected as a Centre of Research Excellence.
The techniques that are used to diagnose asthma early can also be used to monitor children with asthma and cystic fibrosis. According to Dompeling, “there are good medications and treatment methods for these children, but this doesn’t stop them from having regular attacks.” The problem, he says, is that there is currently no way to measure the underlying airway infections. “But using non-invasive methods allows you to measure and identify infections at an early stage, in order to adjust the medication in time and prevent attacks. This is also why it’s important to figure out how to simplify the measurement instruments.”
In the coming years, Dompeling will also focus on various studies aimed at preventing asthma. At the same time, he intends to stay involved in patient care, as, “after all, that’s what it’s all about. We’ll also position ourselves more as a centre focusing on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment for children who are suffering from chronic lung disease. And we’ll put new instruments and methods into practice.”
When it comes to education, Dompeling is striving to have medical curricula pay more attention to the early diagnosis of asthma, the expansion of the lung function and the development of COPD at a mature age. Finally, he points out that paediatricians in Maastricht are being trained as paediatric lung specialists. “The programme recently received a five-year accreditation, which is important for our national and international position as a centre for lung disease in children.”