Open AccessEmergency department treatment of asthma in children: A review
Author(s) -
Lee Moon O.,
Sivasankar Shyam,
Pokrajac Nicholas,
Smith Cherrelle,
LumbaBrown Angela
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the american college of emergency physicians open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2688-1152
DOI - 10.1002/emp2.12224
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency department , asthma , bronchoconstriction , asthma exacerbations , airway obstruction , airway hyperresponsiveness , bronchial hyperresponsiveness , pediatrics , intensive care medicine , disease , airway , respiratory disease , emergency medicine , anesthesia , psychiatry , lung
Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children, with >700,000 emergency department (ED) visits each year. Asthma is a respiratory disease characterized by a combination of airway inflammation, bronchoconstriction, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, and variable outflow obstruction, with clinical presentations ranging from mild to life‐threatening. Standardized ED treatment can improve patient outcomes, including fewer hospital admissions. Informed by the most recent guidelines, this review focuses on the optimal approach to diagnosis and treatment of children with acute asthma exacerbations who present to the ED.