Prehospital EMS treatment of pediatric asthma and what happens before help arrives?

Many asthmatic children require assistance by emergency medical services (EMS) secondary to an acute asthma episode. What medication interventions are being utilized by EMS when responding to an asthma call for a child, and how does EMS management compare to home management given before ambulance arrival (pre EMS)? Sixty-one ambulance reports pertaining to acute asthma episodes in children aged 1 month to 15 years were collected and analyzed. There was no significant difference between likelihood to receive a beta 2-agonist nebulizer treatment pre-EMS arrival or by EMS. Oxygen was the most common EMS intervention.