Outcome of status asthmaticus at a pediatric intensive care unit in Hong Kong

Objectives To characterize the clinical course and outcome of children with status asthmaticus (SA) admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) Methods All patients with SA who were admitted to a PICU from January 2003 to December 2018 were reviewed. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) studies on nasopharyngeal aspirate for respiratory pathogens were performed from 2014 to 2018. Results Sixty‐seven SA admissions constituted 2.4% of total PICU admissions (n = 2788). Fifteen (22.4%) children required noninvasive ventilation (NIV), while 7 children (10%) required invasive mechanical ventilation. Nonadherence to prior asthma therapy was common. PCR was positive for enterorvirus/rhinovirus in 84% (16 out of 19) and for any virus in 95% of nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) samples of patients between 2014 and 2018. Over the 16‐year period, increased utilization of ipratropium bromide, magnesium sulfate and NIV was noted (P