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  • Title: Do inhaled steroids differ from cromones in terms of hospital admission rates for asthma in children?
    Author: Korhonen K, Dunder T, Klaukka T, Reijonen TM, Issakoff K, Kiviharju M, Linna O, Remes K, Korppi M.
    Journal: Acta Paediatr; 2004 Dec; 93(12):1612-8. PubMed ID: 15841770.
    Abstract:
    AIM: The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of hospital admissions in two child populations receiving different types of drugs as their regular medication for steady-state asthma. METHODS: Annual data on children aged under 16 y treated for asthma, including consumption of regular medication for asthma, numbers of hospital periods, lengths of hospitalizations and annual proportions of readmissions, were collected using patient-specific medical records from 1995 to 1999. In the Kuopio province, on average, 35.6-36.7/1000 children were on maintenance for asthma, of which 23% were receiving cromones, 51% were taking inhaled steroids and 26% were treated with cromones plus intermittent steroids. In the Oulu province, the respective prevalence was 32.7-34.9/1000, and the respective proportions were 5%, 93% and 2%. RESULTS: Total and first admissions, as well as hospital days were clearly less in the Oulu province. In the children aged > or = 6y, the average annual total admissions were 0.3/1000 (Oulu) vs 1.2/1000 (Kuopio) (p < 0.001). Similarly, the first admissions were 0.2/1000 vs 1.0/1000 (p < 0.001), proportions of readmissions 6.3% vs 19.3% (p < 0.05), and numbers of hospital days 0.7/1000 vs 3.8/1000 (p < 0.001). The differences were in the same direction, though less prominent, also among children 2-5 y of age. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that inhaled steroids are better than cromones in preventing admissions for asthma when two provinces with different practices for maintenance medication of steady-state asthma were compared.
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