title: Asthma-related hospitalizations and lack of outpatient follow-up treatment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the children and adolescents with acute asthma attacks admitted to two public hospitals in the city of Recife, Brazil underwent outpatient follow-up treatment for the prevention and control of asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective case series study of hospitalized patients with asthma. The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire at admission in order to determine the frequency of prophylactic outpatient follow-up treatment. Patients presenting two or more attacks of asthma that were responsive to bronchodilators were classified as having asthma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the intervals between asthma attacks, 67% (112/167--data regarding 2 patients were not available) of the patients had been treated only in the emergency room. Although 53.3%(89/167--data regarding 2 patients were not provided) of the patients had been referred to outpatient treatment, only 16% (27/169) had visited an outpatient asthma clinic regularly for preventive treatment, and only 13% (22/169) had used prophylactic medication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the children and adolescents hospitalized with asthma had not undergone preventive outpatient follow-up treatment. Various problems related to the health care system, such as non-referral for outpatient follow-up treatment at hospital discharge, limited access to outpatient clinics, and the cost of prophylactic medication, might have contributed to the low rate of outpatient follow-up treatment in the population studied. Public health care policies that allow asthma control programs to work effectively should be implemented.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil. emanuel.sarinho@gmail.com
authors.forename: Emanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarinho
authors.forename: Gladys Reis e Silva de
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Queiroz
authors.forename: Maria Laura Campelo de Melo
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Alexandre Jorge
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Queiroz e Silva
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents