Emergency management of childhood bronchial asthma: a multicenter survey

Bronchial asthma is one of the most common diseases of childhood. This survey was conducted to examine the existing practices in the emergency management of asthma. The questionnaires were sent to 233 Directors of Pediatric Emergency Services in Pediatric Residency Training Programs and 118 (51%) responses were received. The results of this survey demonstrate that clinical scoring systems are not commonly used while pulmonary function tests are frequently obtained on symptomatic patients with bronchial asthma. Sixty-seven of the surveyed institutions do not routinely administer oxygen to all wheezing patients. Despite recent studies showing the effectiveness of inhaled beta adrenergic agents, injectable beta agonists remain the initial intervention of choice in most institutions. Corticosteroids are usually utilized at the time of the patient's disposition and inhaled anticholinergic agents are frequently used.