Significant changes have occurred in the intensity of treatment of children with severe asthma in the last decade. The objectives of this study are 1) to describe the changes in treatment of asthmatic children needing care in the intensive care unit (ICU) initially treated in our emergency department (ED) in 1983 to 1985 (I) and in 1990 to 1992 (II), and 2) to examine if these changes correspond to changes in clinical outcomes.
Retrospective descriptive study.
All asthmatic children less than 18 years old treated in the ED and admitted to the ICU directly or via the ward with a primary diagnosis of asthma.
Pediatric tertiary care hospital.
A total of 89 ICU admissions were required for patients initially treated in our ED, 54 in 1983 to 1985 and 35 in 1990 to 1992. In 1985, 29.7% of asthma patients required hospital admission and 0.5% needed ICU admission, while 30.7 and 0.7% required hospital and ICU admission, respectively, in 1992. Admissions to the ICU directly via the ED were similar in both time periods (I, 27; II, 30), while those admitted to the ICU via the ward decreased significantly (I, 27; II, 5; P