MedPage Today: Eczema Associated with Longer Hospital Stays for Kids with Asthma

by Molly Walker

Children with a history of eczema who were hospitalized for asthma exacerbation had a longer hospital stay that required more treatment.

In a group of highly allergic children, those with a history of eczema had a longer median hospital stay (4 days versus 3 days) and required more hours of continuous albuterol (6 hours versus 1 hour) compared to those without a history of eczema, reported Mona Liu, MD, of Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.

And children with a family history of asthma had a greater likelihood of admission to the pediatric intensive care unit.

At a presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Liu said there's a large amount of allergic sensitization among children hospitalized for asthma, with 68% sensitized to three or more allergens.

Jay Portnoy, MD, of Children's Mercy Kansas City, who wasn't involved in the study, said the results were not really surprising, given that allergies and eczema are associated with more severe asthma.

"I think of [this study] as further supporting that observation, but it's an observational study so no causal conclusions can be drawn," Portnoy told MedPage Today. "It also doesn't imply that any specific treatment would help."

Liu said next steps for the research included continuing patient recruitment at her hospital. She also hoped to investigate whether specific allergic sensitivities were associated with a more severe inpatient hospital course.

Read the full article via MedPage Today.

Learn more about the services offered by the Division of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology at Children's Mercy.