Background severity of asthma in children discharged from the emergency department.
OBJECTIVE
Attendance at an Emergency Department (ED) with an acute attack of asthma may be indicative of undertreatment of persistent disease. However, many presentations are in children with infrequent episodic asthma. The aim of this study was to characterize the pattern of asthma of children discharged from ED to determine whether there was potential to improve underlying disease control.


METHODS
This was a cohort study. Three hundred and ten parental caretakers of 1 to 15-year-old children, attended and discharged from an ED with asthma, completed an asthma control questionnaire, an asthma knowledge questionnaire and a caregiver's quality of life questionnaire. Background severity of asthma was classified and medication history was assessed. Also included were those with their first attack of asthma.


RESULTS
One hundred and thirty-two (43%) children had infrequent episodic asthma, 105 (34%) frequent episodic, 40 (13%) persistent asthma and 33 (11%) first attack asthma. Thirty-nine per cent of children were not receiving preventer therapy and this seemed appropriate; 14% of children with frequent episodic and persistent asthma were not receiving appropriate preventer therapy; and a further 34% had frequent symptoms despite receiving preventer therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
We observed deficiencies in use of preventer medications, use of written asthma management plans and lack of parental knowledge in some children with established asthma who presented to an ED. There was also a large number of children who did not have frequent background symptoms or who presented with their first episode.
Khan
M S R
MS
School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.
O'Meara
M
M
Henry
R L
RL
D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004630:Emergencies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012720:Severity of Illness Index