title: Effect of a clinical pathway on length of stay and cost of pediatric inpatient asthma admissions: an integrative review.
abstract: Asthma is the leading cause of pediatric hospital admissions in the United States. In response to the high prevalence of asthma and the variations in care, clinical practice guidelines have been developed and recommend the use of a clinical pathway for inpatient management. This review will examine the effects of a pediatric asthma clinical pathway on inpatient stays, specifically the length of stay (LOS) and cost of inpatient admissions. A literature review was performed to identify original research projects examining the effects of an asthma clinical pathway on inpatient pediatric admissions. Nine studies were found to fit the criteria and are included in this review. These nine studies found consistent evidence that the use of an asthma clinical pathway for inpatient asthma admissions resulted in reduced LOS and cost.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ann Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sylvester
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA, USA Senior Fellow, Center for Health Behavior Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA mgeorge@nursing.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D019091:Critical Pathways; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000191:economics*
keywords: asthma; inpatient; pathway; pediatric