Risk Factors for Pediatric Intensive Care Admission among Asthmatic Children in Aseer, South-West Saudi Arabia

Background: The burden of childhood asthma continues to rise with increasing rates of asthma prevalence, severity, and death. Asthma is the one of the most chronic pediatric disorder and is frequent caused for hospitalization and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions.

Objective:To determine risk factors for PICU admission in children with asthma.

Patients and Method:The study used a retrospective case-control design. The cases included children admitted to the PICU and controls were children admitted to the hospital general ward.

Results:A total of 320 charts of asthmatic children were reviewed: 72 (22.5%) admitted to the PICU and 248 (77.5%) admitted to the general ward. Univariate analysis indicated that asthmatic children admitted to PICU were more likely to be older (p<0.001), have longer asthma duration (p<0.001), higher use of: inhaled corticosteroids (p<0.0001), cromolyn (p=0.03), long acting β2 agonists (p=0.001), and poor adherence to treatment (p=0.002). However, multivariate analysis revealed that longer duration of asthma (p=0.03), use of inhaled corticosteroids (p=0.01), and non-compliance with therapy (p=0.02) were associated with an increased risk of PICU admission. Conclusions: this study identified a significant number of risk factors associated with PICU admission. Early recognition could help to develop preventive strategies, improve efficacy of treatment and reduce admission to PICU.