Objective: This study was done to understand the demographics, clinical course, and outcomes of children with status asthmaticus treated in a tertiary care pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Methods: The medical charts of all patients above 5 years of age admitted to the PICU at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA, with status asthmaticus from 2000 to 2007 were reviewed retrospectively. Data from 222 encounters by 183 children were analyzed.
Results: The mean age at admission in years was 11 ± 3.8. The median PICU stay was 1 day (range, 1-12 days) and median hospital stay was 3 days. The ventilated group (n = 17) stayed a median of 2 days longer in the PICU and hospital. Nearly half of the children (n = 91; 50%) did not receive daily controller asthma medications. Adherence to asthma medications was reported in 125 patient charts of whom 43 (34%) were compliant. Exposure to smoking was reported in 167 of whom 70 (42%) were exposed. Among patients receiving metered dose inhaler (MDI), only 39 (18%) were using it with a spacer. Among 105 patient charts asthma severity data were available, of them 21 (20%) were labeled as mild intermittent, 29 (28%) were mild persistent, 26 (25%) were moderate persistent, and 29 (28%) were severe persistent. Compared to children with only one PICU admission during the study period (n = 161), children who had multiple PICU admissions (n = 22) experienced more prior emergency department visits and hospitalizations for asthma symptoms. There were no fatalities.
Conclusion: Asthmatics with any disease severity are at risk for life-threatening asthma exacerbations requiring PICU stay, especially those who are not adherent with their daily medications.