Decreasing morbidity of childhood asthma by regular outpatient follow-up, in Crete.

AIM

There is evidence that the prevalence and morbidity of childhood asthma are increasing in many countries despite improvement of therapeutic regimens. We aimed to study possible changes in childhood asthma morbidity in Crete, Greece, by evaluating hospital admissions and emergency room visits for childhood asthma before and after 1-year regular follow-up at a special pediatric pulmonary out-patient clinic.

METHODS

We followed-up 118 asthmatic children, aged 1-14 years, at a special pediatric pulmonary outpatient clinic. We evaluated the total number of hospital admissions due to asthma as well as asthma exacerbations during the 12 months before and 12 months after the regular follow-up care at the special pediatric pulmonary outpatient clinic.

RESULTS

The total annual number of hospital admissions of the 118 children before and after the regular follow-up was 122 and 19, respectively (reduction of 84%). Similarly, the total number of asthma exacerbations was 771 before and 230 after the 1-year follow-up (reduction of 71%).

CONCLUSION

These findings show that regular follow-up care of asthmatic children at a specialized pediatric pulmonary outpatient clinic considerably reduces the morbidity of childhood asthma, thus reducing hospital costs for asthma and improving the quality of life for asthmatic children and their families.