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Asthma-related health care resource use among asthmatic children with and without concomitant allergic rhinitis

Mike Thomas1, Vasilisa Sazonov Kocevar, Qiaoyi Zhang

  • 1Department of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill Health Centre, Westburn Road, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

Pediatrics
|January 5, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Children with asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) use more healthcare resources and incur higher prescription costs. A unified treatment approach for both conditions may reduce overall healthcare expenditures.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
  • Respiratory Medicine
  • Health Services Research

Background:

  • Asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) are common childhood conditions.
  • Comorbid allergic rhinitis significantly impacts asthma management and healthcare utilization.
  • Understanding the incremental burden of AR in asthmatic children is crucial for resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the additional healthcare resource use associated with allergic rhinitis in children diagnosed with asthma.
  • To determine the impact of comorbid allergic rhinitis on hospitalizations, general practitioner (GP) visits, and prescription drug costs in pediatric asthma patients.

Main Methods:

  • Population-based historical cohort study utilizing UK general practice database records from 1998-2001.
  • Included children aged 6-15 years with asthma and at least one asthma-related GP visit.
  • Compared healthcare resource use (hospitalizations, GP visits, prescription costs) between children with asthma alone and those with comorbid allergic rhinitis.

Main Results:

  • 19.7% of 9522 children with asthma also had allergic rhinitis.
  • Children with comorbid allergic rhinitis had more GP visits (4.4 vs 3.4) and higher asthma hospitalization rates (1.4% vs 0.5%).
  • Allergic rhinitis independently predicted asthma hospitalization (OR: 2.34) and increased GP visits, asthma drug costs (average increase £6.7), irrespective of asthma severity.

Conclusions:

  • Comorbid allergic rhinitis significantly increases healthcare resource utilization and prescription costs in children with asthma.
  • The findings support a unified treatment strategy for asthma and allergic rhinitis to potentially reduce healthcare burdens.
  • Implementing guidelines like the Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) initiative may improve patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
Abstract

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