User login
HONOLULU — Influenza testing should be considered in children hospitalized for asthma because children with both conditions have almost five times the chance of intubation or death, compared with asthmatic children without a comorbid condition, according to a study of over 600,000 children.
Adolescence, race, male gender, Medicaid status, and lack of insurance were other risk factors that predicted an adverse outcome, Dr. Alan S. Weller and Dr. Kitaw Demissie of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J., wrote in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
The study involved a nationally representative sample of 641,354 children, aged 2–17 years, who were included in the National Hospital Discharge Survey for 2001–2005. All were hospitalized primarily for asthma.
Of the 2,505 children with influenza in that group, 2% had an adverse outcome (intubation or death) with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.79 in the multivariate analysis, which corrected for age, race, gender, insurance, region, and comorbid conditions. Other significant predictors of adverse outcomes were age between 12 and 17 years, compared with 2–4 years (OR, 3.37), male gender (OR, 1.47), black race (OR, 1.31), and other race (OR, 1.34).
Children with private insurance had a significantly lower risk of adverse outcomes. Compared with privately insured children, the odds ratio for children with Medicaid was 2.29, the odds ratio for children with HMO/PPO insurance was 1.39, and the odds ratio for uninsured children was 1.42.
Children in the Western region of the United States fared worst (OR, 5.07), compared with those in the South. Compared with those in the South, the odds ratio for children in the Northeast was 1.89, and for those in the Midwest it was 1.22.
Influenza was the only comorbid condition that predicted adverse outcome. Sinusitis and upper respiratory infections predicted significantly better outcomes, compared with children who had no comorbid conditions. Children with sinusitis had a 63% lower chance of an adverse outcome, and those with upper respiratory infections had an 88% lower chance of an adverse outcome.
The investigators concluded that further studies would be required to characterize the role of these predictors and to formulate appropriate interventions for those in high-risk groups.
Dr. Weller disclosed no conflicts of interest related to this study.
HONOLULU — Influenza testing should be considered in children hospitalized for asthma because children with both conditions have almost five times the chance of intubation or death, compared with asthmatic children without a comorbid condition, according to a study of over 600,000 children.
Adolescence, race, male gender, Medicaid status, and lack of insurance were other risk factors that predicted an adverse outcome, Dr. Alan S. Weller and Dr. Kitaw Demissie of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J., wrote in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
The study involved a nationally representative sample of 641,354 children, aged 2–17 years, who were included in the National Hospital Discharge Survey for 2001–2005. All were hospitalized primarily for asthma.
Of the 2,505 children with influenza in that group, 2% had an adverse outcome (intubation or death) with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.79 in the multivariate analysis, which corrected for age, race, gender, insurance, region, and comorbid conditions. Other significant predictors of adverse outcomes were age between 12 and 17 years, compared with 2–4 years (OR, 3.37), male gender (OR, 1.47), black race (OR, 1.31), and other race (OR, 1.34).
Children with private insurance had a significantly lower risk of adverse outcomes. Compared with privately insured children, the odds ratio for children with Medicaid was 2.29, the odds ratio for children with HMO/PPO insurance was 1.39, and the odds ratio for uninsured children was 1.42.
Children in the Western region of the United States fared worst (OR, 5.07), compared with those in the South. Compared with those in the South, the odds ratio for children in the Northeast was 1.89, and for those in the Midwest it was 1.22.
Influenza was the only comorbid condition that predicted adverse outcome. Sinusitis and upper respiratory infections predicted significantly better outcomes, compared with children who had no comorbid conditions. Children with sinusitis had a 63% lower chance of an adverse outcome, and those with upper respiratory infections had an 88% lower chance of an adverse outcome.
The investigators concluded that further studies would be required to characterize the role of these predictors and to formulate appropriate interventions for those in high-risk groups.
Dr. Weller disclosed no conflicts of interest related to this study.
HONOLULU — Influenza testing should be considered in children hospitalized for asthma because children with both conditions have almost five times the chance of intubation or death, compared with asthmatic children without a comorbid condition, according to a study of over 600,000 children.
Adolescence, race, male gender, Medicaid status, and lack of insurance were other risk factors that predicted an adverse outcome, Dr. Alan S. Weller and Dr. Kitaw Demissie of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J., wrote in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
The study involved a nationally representative sample of 641,354 children, aged 2–17 years, who were included in the National Hospital Discharge Survey for 2001–2005. All were hospitalized primarily for asthma.
Of the 2,505 children with influenza in that group, 2% had an adverse outcome (intubation or death) with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.79 in the multivariate analysis, which corrected for age, race, gender, insurance, region, and comorbid conditions. Other significant predictors of adverse outcomes were age between 12 and 17 years, compared with 2–4 years (OR, 3.37), male gender (OR, 1.47), black race (OR, 1.31), and other race (OR, 1.34).
Children with private insurance had a significantly lower risk of adverse outcomes. Compared with privately insured children, the odds ratio for children with Medicaid was 2.29, the odds ratio for children with HMO/PPO insurance was 1.39, and the odds ratio for uninsured children was 1.42.
Children in the Western region of the United States fared worst (OR, 5.07), compared with those in the South. Compared with those in the South, the odds ratio for children in the Northeast was 1.89, and for those in the Midwest it was 1.22.
Influenza was the only comorbid condition that predicted adverse outcome. Sinusitis and upper respiratory infections predicted significantly better outcomes, compared with children who had no comorbid conditions. Children with sinusitis had a 63% lower chance of an adverse outcome, and those with upper respiratory infections had an 88% lower chance of an adverse outcome.
The investigators concluded that further studies would be required to characterize the role of these predictors and to formulate appropriate interventions for those in high-risk groups.
Dr. Weller disclosed no conflicts of interest related to this study.