Asthma exacerbations in the pediatric emergency area: Evaluation and prospects for improvement of pre-hospital care

INTRODUCTIONThe frequency of visits to emergency department for asthma is a significant public health problem in pediatrics. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of children who visited the pediatric emergency department for asthma exacerbation and evaluated their therapeutic management prior to admission.METHODSA prospective study was conducted over a 6-month period in the pediatric emergency departments of five hospitals involving children aged 1-16 years admitted to the department with a clinical diagnosis of asthma exacerbation.RESULTSIn all, 143 patients were enrolled in the study. Asthma episodes were moderate to severe in 69.2% of cases (n = 99). Initial treatment prior to admission to the emergency department was adequate in only 17.5% of cases (n = 25). Hospitalization for more than 24 h occurred in 18.2% (n = 26) patients. In children aged