title: Achieving and maintaining asthma control in inner-city children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite guidelines-defined care, inner-city children of low socioeconomic status have poor asthma control.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated time to achieve control, maintenance of control, and factors associated with well controlled asthma for pediatric patients receiving specialty-based asthma care in mobile asthma clinics designed to reduce barriers to delivering effective asthma care (the Breathmobile Program).
  
  
  METHODS
  Existing clinical data collected from January 1998 to June 2008 for 7822 pediatric patients with asthma (34,339 visits) enrolled in similarly structured mobile asthma programs across the United States evaluated the effect of asthma control on the reduction of asthma-related morbidity, time to achieve asthma control, maintenance of asthma control, and factors associated with well controlled asthma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparison of pre and post year data for subjects enrolled in the program for at least 1 year revealed reductions in the percentage of patients reporting emergency department visits (mean, 66%), hospitalizations (mean, 84%), and missed school days ≥5/year (mean, 78%). Well controlled asthma was achieved by visit 3 for an estimated 80% of patients. Factors contributing to well controlled asthma include non-African American race, visit interval <90 days, and adherence to prescribed therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates the ability to achieve and maintain asthma control in high-risk populations in association with intensive, accessible, guidelines-defined care with close follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA. lynescottmd@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Lyne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Tricia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morphew
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bollinger
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Samuelson
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galant
authors.forename: Loran
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Clement
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Cull
authors.forename: Felita
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*