D2.133 - Clinical and Direct Medical Burden of Hospitalized Children with Asthma Exacerbations

Asthma is the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease during childhood, its incidence among children and adolescents aged 0-14 years has been continuously increasing. Hospitalization costs for asthma contribute significantly to overall asthma-related medical expenses, and every admission has implications for the well-being of both the child and the parents. This study aims to compare clinical characteristics and direct medical burden of asthma exacerbations among children of different ages to develop more targeted prevention and treatment strategies. 

This retrospective study analyzed hospital admissions of children and adolescents with asthma exacerbations from January 2016 to December 2021. Inclusion criteria were used to identify eligible cases, and demographic information, disease data, and hospitalization expenses were collected. Based on age, patients were categorized into infant, preschool, school-age, and adolescent groups. All data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0.

This study included a total of 456 children with a median age of 3.25 years old. Apart from the infant group, the percentage of inpatients was highest during autumn across all other age groups (P ＜0.05). Asthma exacerbations were mainly induced by respiratory tract infections within all age groups. Additionally, the percentage of asthma induced by exercise in adolescents (13.04%) was higher than that of other groups (P ＜0.05). The first diagnoses of asthma (92.73%), respiratory failure (77.27%), and respiratory tract infection (97.27%) were the most common diagnoses among preschool children (P ＜0.05). The proportion of sinusitis cases increased with age, while food allergy was more prevalent among preschool children. The atopy-only asthma phenotype was dominant in all age groups, and respiratory support usage had decreased. Preschoolers had the highest use of systemic glucocorticoid (85.45%, P ＜0.05). The mean length of stay was 8.11 days, with the shortest stay in the preschool age group (P ＜0.05).

Children of different age groups exhibit differences in gender, severity, triggers, asthma phenotype, comorbidity, medication use, and hospitalization costs. In clinical practice, it is important to develop prevention and treatment strategies that are tailored to the age of children with asthma.