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Published on: August 7, 2017

The clinical course of childhood asthma in association with fever

A Sahib El-Radhi1, Swatee Patel

  • 1Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup, Kent; Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, University of Greenwich, Woolwich, London, United Kingdom. sahib.el-radhi@ hotmail.co.uk

Clinical Pediatrics
|May 2, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Fever in children with asthma is common, especially in those under five. Febrile children often experience a less severe asthma course and shorter hospital stays compared to afebrile children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Clinical Medicine
  • Infectious Disease in Asthma

Background:

  • The relationship between fever and asthma severity in pediatric admissions remains under-explored.
  • Fever is a common symptom in children, and its impact on asthma exacerbations requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between fever and the clinical course of asthma in hospitalized children.
  • To determine if fever influences asthma severity, hospital stay duration, and complication rates.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study of 202 consecutive pediatric asthma admissions over 16 months.
  • Data collected included body temperature, age, asthma severity, hospital stay, and radiological findings.

Main Results:

  • 18.8% of children admitted for asthma had a fever, predominantly those under five years old.
  • Febrile children had a shorter mean hospital stay (1.7 days) versus afebrile children (2.0 days).
  • Fewer febrile children experienced acute severe asthma (5.2%) compared to afebrile children (14%), with no febrile cases requiring intensive care.

Conclusions:

  • Fever in pediatric asthma admissions is associated with a generally less severe clinical course.
  • Monitoring body temperature is crucial for assessing asthma severity and predicting outcomes in children.
  • Younger children with asthma are more likely to present with fever and have milder exacerbations.

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