title: Do inhaled steroids differ from cromones in terms of hospital admission rates for asthma in children?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of hospital admissions in two child populations receiving different types of drugs as their regular medication for steady-state asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Annual data on children aged under 16 y treated for asthma, including consumption of regular medication for asthma, numbers of hospital periods, lengths of hospitalizations and annual proportions of readmissions, were collected using patient-specific medical records from 1995 to 1999. In the Kuopio province, on average, 35.6-36.7/1000 children were on maintenance for asthma, of which 23% were receiving cromones, 51% were taking inhaled steroids and 26% were treated with cromones plus intermittent steroids. In the Oulu province, the respective prevalence was 32.7-34.9/1000, and the respective proportions were 5%, 93% and 2%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total and first admissions, as well as hospital days were clearly less in the Oulu province. In the children aged > or = 6y, the average annual total admissions were 0.3/1000 (Oulu) vs 1.2/1000 (Kuopio) (p < 0.001). Similarly, the first admissions were 0.2/1000 vs 1.0/1000 (p < 0.001), proportions of readmissions 6.3% vs 19.3% (p < 0.05), and numbers of hospital days 0.7/1000 vs 3.8/1000 (p < 0.001). The differences were in the same direction, though less prominent, also among children 2-5 y of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that inhaled steroids are better than cromones in preventing admissions for asthma when two provinces with different practices for maintenance medication of steady-state asthma were compared.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland. kaj.korhonen@uku.fi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Korhonen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dunder
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klaukka
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Reijonen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Issakoff
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiviharju
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Linna
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Remes
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korppi
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000293:Adolescent; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002867:Chromones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D002867:Chromones