The Outcome of Immediate Administration of Dexamethasone in Children With Croup (Laryngotracheobronchitis) in King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital

BackgroundCroup is an inflammatory disease that affects the upper respiratory tract involving the upper airways of the lungs (bronchial tubes), vocal cords (larynx), and windpipe (trachea). In Canada, it is considered one of the major causes of respiratory diseases in the first 10 years of life. A wide range of viruses like common cold and flu (influenza) infections can cause croup (laryngotracheobronchitis). Dexamethasone has been commonly used to treat croup even though it lacks evidence on patients' recovery. The study aimed to compare the effect of the immediate or late dexamethasone administration on patient recovery and identify predictors for relapse among children with croup.MethodsA retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using the electronic medical record (Best Care) of all croup patients between 2014 and 2018 in King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital (KASCH), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Out of the 329, only 186 patients matched our inclusion criteria. Statistical analysis was conducted with the SPSS V.22 software package (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). The main outcome variable was early recovery or relapse. The chi-square test and logistic regression were used to assess the relationship between the independent variables with recovery or relapse among croup patients. A p-value of