Article Abstract:
Children with acute asthma may be hospitalized for shorter stays if they receive earlier treatment at home or as an outpatient. A study of 85 children with asthma who had to be hospitalized found that 39 of 62 patients with short stays of two days or less had initiated increased asthma treatment in the 24 hours before hospital admission. Only one of 23 patients hospitalized with long stays of four days or more had augmented asthma treatment before hospital admission, and more of these children had symptoms of acute asthma for more than 24 hours before admission. Hypoxemia, low oxygenation of blood, was more prevalent in children who had long hospital stays. Viral respiratory infections triggered acute asthma in most patients of both groups.
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Article Abstract:
An algorithm for treating children hospitalized with severe asthma could lower treatment costs without compromising care. The algorithm contains precise instructions to guide treatment based on the child's symptoms. Researchers tested such an algorithm in 201 children hospitalized with severe asthma, 104 of whom were treated according to the algorithm and 97 of whom received standard care. Children treated with the algorithm had shorter hospital stays and received fewer doses of bronchodilators but similar relapse rates as the other group. The cost of treatment was about $700 less per patient in the algorithm group.
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Article Abstract:
Asthmatic children hospitalized more than once for their disease are more likely to have other chronic illnesses than asthmatic children hospitalized once. Researchers reviewed the cases of 119 children hospitalized for asthma, of whom 35 required subsequent hospitalization. Rehospitalization was more common in children who had seen a pulmonary specialist, and in children with other chronic diseases, such as cerebral palsy, sickle cell anemia, allergies, or chronic ear infections.
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