Tratamiento del asma en la consulta externa de urgencias de un hospital pediatrico / Treatment for asthma in the emergency clinic of a pediatric hospital

An the end of 1983 a change was made in the treatment of children presenting with acute asthmatic attacks in the emergency clinic at a pediatric hospital in Costa Rica. The use of epinephrine was abandoned in favor of salbutamol in spray form and short-term treatment with glucocorticoids. This new regime, compared with the previous one, reduced hospitalizations and readmissions for asthma by nearly 70 percent, as well as the average hospital stay (3.5 days vs. 5 days)