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Children with severe acute asthma admitted to Dutch PICUs: A changing landscape

  • Shelley A. Boeschoten*
  • , Corinne M.P. Buysse
  • , Peter J.F.M. Merkus
  • , Jacob M.C. van Wijngaarden
  • , Sabien G.J. Heisterkamp
  • , Johan C. de Jongste
  • , Joost van Rosmalen
  • , Suzan C.M. Cochius-den Otter
  • , Annemie L.M. Boehmer
  • , Matthijs de Hoog
  • , Joris Lemson
  • , P. P. Roeleveld
  • , Nicolaas J.G. Jansen
  • , Martin C. Kneyber
  • , Dick A. van Waardenburg
  • , Marc van Heerde
  • , SKIC Dutch collaborative PICU research network
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The number of children requiring pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission for severe acute asthma (SAA) around the world has increased. Objectives: We investigated whether this trend in SAA PICU admissions is present in the Netherlands. Methods: A multicenter retrospective cohort study across all tertiary care PICUs in the Netherlands. Inclusion criteria were children (2-18 years) hospitalized for SAA between 2003 and 2013. Data included demographic data, asthma diagnosis, treatment, and mortality. Results: In the 11-year study period 590 children (660 admissions) were admitted to a PICU with a threefold increase in the number of admissions per year over time. The severity of SAA seemed unchanged, based on the first blood gas, length of stay and mortality rate (0.6%). More children received highflow nasal cannula (P < 0.001) and fewer children needed invasive ventilation (P < 0.001). In 58% of the patients the maximal intravenous (IV) salbutamol infusion rate during PICU admission was 1 mcg/kg/min. However, the number of patients treated with IV salbutamol in the referring hospitals increased significantly over time (P = 0.005). The proportion of steroid-naïve patients increased from 35% to 54% (P = 0.004), with a significant increase in both age groups (2-4 years [P = 0.026] and 5-17 years [P = 0.036]). Conclusions: The number of children requiring PICU admission for SAA in the Netherlands has increased. We speculate that this threefold increase is explained by an increasing number of steroid-naïve children, in conjunction with a lowered threshold for PICU admission, possibly caused by earlier use of salbutamol IV in the referring hospitals.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)857-865
Number of pages9
JournalPediatric Pulmonology
Volume53
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2018

Keywords

  • intensive care
  • pediatric asthma
  • severe acute asthma
  • status asthmaticus
  • steroid-naïve

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