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Comparison of Children Hospitalized for Asthma Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Joanne Nazif1,2, Ellen Silver1,2, Chihiro Okada1
1Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.
Insights
During the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer children were hospitalized for asthma, but those admitted were older, sicker, and required more intensive care. This highlights a shift in pediatric asthma hospitalizations during the public health crisis.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Asthma symptom control and hospitalizations in children reportedly improved during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Characteristics of children hospitalized for asthma during the pandemic are not well-defined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the characteristics of children hospitalized for asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic with those hospitalized the year prior.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study comparing asthma admissions during the pandemic versus the preceding year.
- Data collected from a children's hospital in the Bronx, New York.
Main Results:
- Asthma hospitalizations decreased by over 70% during the pandemic.
- Hospitalized children during the pandemic were older, more likely to be underweight, and had public insurance.
- Pandemic admissions showed increased need for intensive care and magnesium sulfate, with similar lengths of stay.
Conclusions:
- Despite reduced overall asthma hospitalizations in children during the pandemic, admitted patients were more severely ill.
- The multifactorial reasons for this shift in pediatric asthma inpatient characteristics warrant further investigation.
Abstract:
Studies suggest that children with asthma experienced improved symptom control and less frequent inpatient admission during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. The characteristics of hospitalized children remain less well defined. This retrospective cohort study compared patients admitted for asthma during the pandemic with patients hospitalized the year prior at a children's hospital in the Bronx, New York. In the year before the pandemic, 667 children were hospitalized for asthma, compared with 177 children the following year. Children admitted during the pandemic were older (7.8 versus 7.0 years, P = 0.04), more likely underweight (P < 0.01), and more likely to have public insurance (P = 0.02). Additionally, children hospitalized during the pandemic required intensive care (P = 0.03) and magnesium sulfate (P = 0.05) more frequently. Despite this, length of stay remained similar. While inpatient utilization for asthma decreased during the pandemic, children hospitalized were sicker on presentation. The cause of this is likely multifactorial and requires further study.
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