Interventions Reduce ED Visits by Asthmatic Children

A long-term study has found that two types of intervention can reduce symptoms and emergency department (ED) visits for inner-city children with asthma. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology in New York (NY, USA).

The first intervention, physician feedback, entails periodic reports to a child's doctor about the status of the disease, generated by bi-monthly phone interviews with parents. When warranted, changes in treatment are recommended. The second intervention is environmental. It involves identifying and removing such asthma triggers as cigarette smoke or cockroaches from the child's home. The initial data suggest that these two interventions effectively reduce hospital visits and asthma symptoms in inner-city children.

The six-year study is part of the Inner-City Asthma Study, a program supported by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of Environmental Sciences. Begun in 1991, the study has involved 12 centers nationwide and about 3,000 children to date. The primary goals are to learn why asthma disproportionately affects inner-city children and to test new ways to treat the disease.




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