Unexpected decline in pediatric asthma morbidity during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pediatr Pulmonol
; 56(7): 1951-1956, 2021 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1179015
ABSTRACT
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic profoundly impacted health care utilization. We evaluated asthma-related emergency department (ED) and inpatient health care utilization by a county-specific Medicaid population, ages 2-18, during the COVID-19 pandemic and compared it to utilization from a 3-year average including 2017-2019. All-cause ED utilization and asthma medication fill rates were evaluated during the same timeframes. Relative to the 2017-2019 3-year average, cumulative asthma-related ED visits from January through June decreased by 45.8% (p = .03) and inpatient admission rates decreased by 50.5% (p = .03). The decline in asthma-related ED utilization was greater than the reduction of overall ED use during the same time period, suggesting that the decline involved factors specific to asthma and was not due solely to avoidance of health care facilities. Fill rates for asthma controller medications decreased during this time (p = .03) and quick relief medication fill rates had no significant change (p = .31). Multiple factors may have contributed to the decrease in acute asthma health care visits. Locally, decreased air pollution and viral exposures coincided with the "Stay-at-home" order in Ohio, and increased utilization of telehealth for assessment during exacerbations may have impacted outcomes. Identification of the cause of the decline in visit rates could spur new interventions to limit the need for ED and inpatient visits for asthma patients, leading to both economic and health-associated benefits.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Asthma
/
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Pediatr Pulmonol
Journal subject:
Pediatrics
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ppul.25406
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