Hospital admissions for wheezing and asthma in childhood--are they avoidable?

Hospital admission rates for asthma and wheezing are still high, especially in younger children. We performed a prospective study of children admitted for asthma or wheezing to Stavanger University Hospital during one year. Prehospital emergency treatment, prophylactic asthma treatment, and possible risk factors for hospital admission were registered. A total of 337 admissions for 288 children were included. Recommended inhaled emergency treatment was administered prior to only 33% of the admissions. Inhaled steroids had been prescribed before 43% of admissions for asthma, and symptomatic treatment with a beta2-agonist prior to 74% of admissions. Parental smoking was frequent. There seems to be a high potential to prevent admissions for asthma and wheezing by improving prophylactic asthma care and prehospital emergency treatment, as well as avoiding parental smoking. An increased focus should be on education and implementation of guidelines.