risk factors for asthmatic children requiring hospitalization

asthma is one of the most common chronic illnesses in childhood with an increased rate of hospitalization. in order to detemine the considerable factors for hospitalization of asthmatic children in our patients, we carried out a retrospective study of children with asthma who were admitted to children medical center affiliated to tehran university of medical sciences over a 3 year period ( 1993-1995). in this study 100 admitted asthmatic children were evaluated including 58 males and 42 females . the mean age of patients at the time of study was 19 months (6 months- 12 years). fifty – three out of 100 patients (53%) were admitted in intensive care unit (icu). 26 out of 53 patients admitted to icu, required tracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. among the 100 admitted patients, 78 patients had respiratory infection before hospitalization, 60 had history of emergency room visit for asthma in 48 hours prior to hospitalization and 23 patients were steroid dependent. family of 90 patients had little formal education about asthma. we conclude that most asthma exacerbations are provoked by respiratory infections, and proper family education is essential for improving outcome of asthma management